We'd been walking for weeks. It'd have been discouraging to Kagome if she wasn't in such a great mood. With no shards or evil demons, the group was getting a chance to get closer. And while they'd had a few awkward conversations (each member of the group having their own particular one they disliked, of course, each of them were equally uncomfortable with the topic of first kisses) Kagome felt more connected to everyone than before. Even Inu-Yasha had opened up a little bit, though usually late at night and in a hushed tone.
Kagome's spirits were lifted more than they had been in a long time. So of course, that's when a demon attacked. It wasn't a very strong demon, and it couldn't put up much of a fight, however, it put the group in attack mode, and Kagome hated it when they put their guards back up. Unlike herself, they were warriors. And while being a warrior had many advantages, they couldn't just let their battle guards down. When one barrier went up, they all went up.
With a sigh, she leaned her back against the bark of a tree. And that's when she felt it.
Inu-Yasha noticed her back go rigid and her eyes seem to widen as she looked around the forest.
"What is it Kagome? Is it a shard?"
"No...it's like a shard. It's got the energy kind of like one...it's like a person though. I can't..."
Inu-Yasha let out a breath. If it wasn't a shard, he didn't care.
"Honestly Kagome, sometimes you are just like Kikyou. Any little thing and you wanna go rushing into it. Come on! We can't save everyone, especially when every ounce of energy we use towards something else weakens us when it comes to defeating Naraku."
All Kagome heard was 'you are just like Kikyou'. And she never imagined that phrase would hurt more than when he told her how much different they were.
Kagome tensed up and glared at the hanyou, who had back up a bit as he felt her energy spike.
"I. Am. Not. Kikyou."
She turned away from him, and faced the tree she had been resting against. She stood in front of it for a minute, before turning back to Inu-Yasha.
"Can you pull this tree up by the roots?"
Inu-Yasha sighed, and nodded. He easily pulled the tree out of the earth, and tossed it aside. Kagome knelt down in front of the hole, and blinked.
"Inu-Yasha, there's a box down there."
The rest of the group approached the spot where the tree once stood and couldn't see anything for the darkness.
"How can you tell?" Inu-Yasha said, squinting and sniffing a bit by habit.
"Because. It's glowing."
Inu-Yasha leapt down to the bottom and felt around a bit until he hit the wooden box.
He handed it to Kagome, who cautiously opened it. Inside, there appeared to be some pictures, a journal, and a few other scraps.
She picked up a folded piece of paper that rested on top of the collection of items.
"I am Kareshi Higurashi. I am the reincarnation of Kikyou, a powerful priestess. And I, am a fool."
Kagome blinked, and her mouth dropped open a bit.
"Higurashi? That's your last name, isn't it Kagome?" Shippou asked, peering at the letter from his spot on her shoulder.
"That's not just my last name...that's my aunt."
Kagome didn't risk a glance at Inu-Yasha or her fellow travel-mates, and instead, read what was left on the letter.
"I leave this here, in hopes that it will be found by the girl who is to do what I could not. This is for Kagome."
The breath left her, and she fell to the ground.
She reached into the box, and pulled out a polaroid. Everyone had gathered behind her for a better view.
"That's my aunt, I think. She looks just like me, doesn't she?" Kagome said, more to herself than anyone else.
The woman was sitting on a rock, by a river, and smiling at whoever held the camera. The angle was a bit off, showing that the photographer may not have been too familiar with a camera.
Another picture showed Kareshi with the last person anyone in their group expected to see.
Naraku.
Even more, she didn't look at all scared. She was standing behind him, smiling at the camera. He was looking at it, a bit unstrustingly, but he had a smirk on his face none-the-less.
Kagome sat that picture down, deciding to look at the other pictures later.
She went for the journal.
"I never was good at writing in journals. And ever since I discovered that the well on my family's shrine was able to transport me back through time - 500 years back, in fact - I haven't really had the time to do so. So I'm going to write everything that happened all at once.
When I came out of the well, I was no longer in Tokyo. I was in feudal Japan. I didn't know what to do, so I jumped back in the well. No one was home. I calmed down a bit, and realized that I could possibly go back. But I didn't go unprepared. I grabbed a Polaroid camera, my aunt's tripod camera, that takes timed pictures, this journal, and some pens and things. I even got a few snack bars. And then I went back through. I saw the tree that was on our shrine, and I went to it.
When I got there, I found a boy. I later learned that his name was Inu-Yasha. But before I could get near him, another man walked up to me, and warned me to stay away from him.
I backed away, and I guess that sealed my fate.
I went with the man, and he led me through the forest. I blacked out for a bit, I had thought, because within minutes, we had arrived at a small house.
"I'm Naraku," he said to me, "and who are you?"
I smiled slightly, "I'm Kareshi. Do you . . . do you know where I am?"
"You're here." he said, and then laughed at his own joke.
I decided not to press the matter any further.
Naraku told me about Inu-Yasha though. He told me that Inu-Yasha was in love with a miko, and that the miko wasn't in love with him. He said that Inu-Yasha tricked Kikyou into engaging to him, even though Kikyou and he were in love. I believed him.
He said that Inu-Yasha killed Kikyou, and before Kikyou died, she killed him.
And I believed him.
He let me stay with him. He was nice to me. Though, I'd often find him with demons and sometimes the meetings were dangerous, with Naraku defeating them, sometimes they were business like.
One day, I decided to ask him about it.
A demon had come over, and he and Naraku were conversing.
I appeared in the doorway, and the demon growled, and turned to Naraku.
"I knew I smelled a human!" he roared, lashing out at Naraku.
And that's when I did it.
I was scared for him.
And I wanted to protect him.
A pink light appeared from my hands and it blasted towards the demon, causing it to crumble to the ground.
"You...you're a miko!" he exclaimed.
I didn't really know how much that would mean. I could only think two things.
He's alive.
And he doesn't seem mad at me.
"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, running to him, and hugging him close to me, if only to prove he was real.
"Why?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me, and patting my back.
"Well, I think I killed your friend."
He grinned, "You did. And he wasn't my friend. I'm only glad you're safe," he said, and then a dark look passed his eyes, and it looked like he was at war with himself.
"I am surprised though," he said slowly, "that you're a miko, and I couldn't sense it."
"You can sense those things?" I asked.
And that's when he told me that he was a hanyou. A half demon. He said it like I'd care.
I didn't.
Because I'd fallen in love with him.
As I watched him, I found Naraku to be complex, and a little cold. He had three different personalities.
Rarely, he seemed like an honest-to-god good human being. He was kind, and gentle, and said sweet things to me. Usually when we were making love - which I'll get into later - though even then he could be a bit rough.
Sometimes he was extremely cruel, though never to me. He went through great lengths to stay away from me while he was like that. I saw it though. He had two different ways of doing it. Sometimes, it was as if he was a cruel and merciless demon. And other times, he was a corrupt little boy. Or, at least that's how I saw it.
Love is blind you know.
And most of the time, it was as if there were two different people inside of him, at war with each other.
Which, oddly enough, was true.
But, anyhow, I don't remember how we ended up kissing the first time.
I had made him dinner, and I was at the river, trying to catch fish. I'd fallen in, and within seconds, he had pulled me from the water. I was shivering, and he pulled me closer, and I looked up at him, and suddenly we were...our lips had...well, one of us had kissed the other.
That's when he started letting me come with him when he'd left to fight demons. He told me that he sensed a great power within me, and that I was a strong miko. So I helped him battle them. For a while, I thought he was ridding the world of bad guys. And then later, I learned that he was absorbing them into himself.
But by then, I was too in love to care.
It was when I learned this, actually, that I first shared his bed.
I would come into his room at night, and tell him stories of my life, and one night, he told me.
"When I fight those demons... don't just kill them. I absorb them into myself."
"Why?" I'd asked, moving closer to him.
"It makes me stronger." he said, turning his head away from me.
It also made him less human.
I crawled into the bed, kind of straddled him. I turned his face back to me, and smiled as I moved a strand of his hair from his face. I twirled it around my fingers, looking at it's glossy purple-black hue.
"I think...I think you're strong already Naraku." I said, smiling a bit.
He reached up to my face and he moved up and I moved down and we were kissing, something we'd been doing a lot since that time in the river. We never talked about the fact that we'd been making out. It just became a daily thing for us. But when he kissed me this time, something was different.
And it didn't take long to figure it out. Because soon after that, he and I made love for the first time.
I won't lie. It was a bit painful. But it felt good. Not just because sex is such a pleasurable act, but because being with him made it so much more special that it actually felt better just knowing it was him between my legs.
And we started doing that more often too. Usually it was once a day. One night, he wrapped his arms around me when we were done, and that's when I started sleeping in his bed afterwards.
He left for a while though, and for about two months, I was alone. That's when I went back to the village near where I'd found Inu-Yasha.
I watched them, and for the first time, I missed company other than Naraku. I missed being part of a village. He kept us isolated, and I hadn't talked to anyone but him in I don't even know how long. Almost a year, I believe.
It was two days after that when he returned.
He was covered in blood, but he wasn't wounded.
He'd killed again.
But I merely shook my head, and took his hand. I led him to the hot springs that weren't too far from us.
I bathed him, cleaning the blood off of him and-"
Kagome gasped, and covered her eyes.
"I can't read that!" she cried, still having some bit of modesty.
"I can!" Miroku cried, snatching the paper from the blushing girl and reading it aloud.
"I bathed him, cleaning the blood off of him and by time I'd made it down to his member, it was already hard. I grinned up at him, before moving him through the water, and pushing him against a rock. I had never given him oral sex before, and I figured now was as good a time as any to see if I was any good.
I started out soft and light, kissing and licking the tip. I then placed a little bit in my mouth, and began to suck. The reaction I got was incredible. Encouraged, I moved one hand up and down his shaft, as I'd seen him do before, and used the other hand to cup his balls. I still can't believe my boldness. I soon began to move my mouth farther down his length, and I was deep throating him. I kept ignoring my gag reflex, so by time he came in my mouth, it was really hard to swallow. I backed off of him, an swallowed, but some of it dribbled down my chin and into my breasts.
Naraku told me later that it was the most erotic sight he'd ever seen.
He grabbed me, and began to kiss me, but I didn't notice that as much as the fact that one of his hands were stimulating my nipples (he'd alternate which one every few minutes...or seconds...time was completely lost to be at that moment) and the other was tracing circles on my back.
The circles moved around my side and down my stomach, and soon he had gotten down into my 'secret place' and he was rubbing my clit, causing me to buck into his hand.
And soon, he was inside of me again. In and out, and my mind was swirling around in circles.
After our climax, he laid me on the grass, and kissed my lips.
"I'll be back for you. I've got some more business to attend to."
Miroku handed the book back to Kagome.
"It's safe now," he assured her.
"Thanks Miroku."
"He smiled at me briefly.
"We've made a child now," he told me, before taking off.
And we did.
I was pregnant. And alone.
For the next ten months.
I think that was torture. Being away from him, and watching myself grow, and not being able to share it with him.
I gave birth to a baby girl at a temple. I'd been walking, one of my new favorite hobbies at that time, and my water broke. I gave a cry, and a monk who had heard me came running towards me and helped me to the temple steps.
They helped me through it, even though I suspect they weren't to sure what they were doing.
I don't think I could have made it through if it wasn't for the little boy.
There was a younger monk, and an older one, who reeked of sake, but there was a small boy, who must have been about three years old, who was with them. He held my hand and kept everyone in line. He was the most adorable thing I ever saw.
While the baby was coming out, I decided that I'd name it after him if it was a boy.
But I had a girl.
I didn't know what to name her. She was beautiful though. The little boy told me that I should keep her safe, because she looked like an important treasure. He had no idea."
"Oh Kami." Miroku said, his eyes wide.
"What?" Sango asked, tearing her eyes away from the journal.
"That was me! I remember that woman. She was the first pregnant woman I ever saw. And the girl was the first naked girl I ever saw, but she was an infant so I don't think it counts," he said, sounding a bit dejected near the end.
"So who was the next naked woman you saw, Houshi-sama?" Sango asked coldly.
Miroku grinned wickedly at her, "I'm glad you asked Sango-chan! It was you!"
Sango blushed madly, and looked back down at the writing.
"You told her she had a treasure? You were born a playboy, weren't you?" Sango said, trying to change the subject just a little.
"Well, I wasn't trying a line on her or anything. It's just, I didn't realize she'd just given birth to a baby. I just knew that the girl was important to her. Plus she was so adorable! I remember that even still. She was as cute as Shippou when he wants candy."
Kagome laughed and went back to reading, barely believing that her aunt was in love with her greatest enemy.
"I carried her back to our house, but something told me to go to the well. And I did. When I went in, it was a lot like the first time. There were blinking lights and stuff, but something went different this time.
I ended up in a field, without even climbing out of the well.
A woman stood before me, and she was the most beautiful woman I ever saw.
"Hello Kareshi," she said, smiling.
"Hello...who are you?"
"I am Midoriko. And the little girl you hold in your arms is my child."
"No! She's mine! You must be mistaken!" I cried, holding the girl closer.
"No, you misunderstand me. I mean, a part of me is inside of her, just as a part of me is inside of you."
"What...what do you mean?"
"I died a long time ago. But, my soul is inside of a jewel called the Shikon no Tama, which rests inside your body at this very moment. However, my soul has managed to reincarnate itself into your daughter. It's very confusing, due to the fact that since you and a few others before you have managed to time travel, reincarnation has gotten, well, messed up."
Somehow, that made sense.
"You're the reincarnation of another miko, named Kikyou. I believe Naraku has told you a little about her...but, I should tell you, that most of what he speaks are lies. He has suspected for a long time that you hold the jewel inside of you. He hasn't outright killed you for it because the part of him that is human is in love with you, and that part fights with everything its got to keep Naraku's head above water, so to speak."
She said other things to me. Told me everything that really happened. About how Kikyou did love Inu-Yasha. And how Naraku led them to believe they betrayed each other.
And even though I didn't want to believe it, I knew it was true.
And when I accepted that, I was back in my time.
My younger sister was sitting outside the well when I climbed out.
"Hika-chan?" I asked, surprised, and cautious.
"Ka-chan!" she screamed, moving to hug me tightly before noticing that I held a baby in my arms.
"Where did you get that?" she asked.
"She's mine..." I said.
"So is that what you've been doing all this time?!" she asked, putting her hands on her hips, somehow managing to remain playful.
"All this time?" I asked.
"Well, it's 1982 Kareshi. You've been gone for a long time."
I dropped to my knees, holding my baby to my chest.
"I didn't know it'd been that long...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't try to get back."
"Well...you were happy, right?" she asked, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"...I was very happy." I said.
"Well, time flies!" she remarked.
I laughed a little, more out of nervousness than anything, but Hikari understood.
"Come on, daddy has been worried sick. But none of us gave up on you. He's mixing up some sort of concoction that's supposed to bring you back or something."
I truly laughed this time. My father always was a character. But I couldn't get what Midoriko said off of my mind. Would she be safe with him.
So I decided, that no matter what, I would leave her here."
"I...I don't have a cousin." Kagome said suddenly.
The others were snapped out of the trance the story had put them into and looked at their story teller.
"I never met my aunt...but I also never met my cousin. And my mother would never let her put the baby up for adoption...and there's no one in my family that's older than me that could be my cousin. I mean, I'd know that right? We have to find her! What if she's in trouble! And when we find her, maybe she can help us! And-"
"Kagome." Miroku said, "Calm down. And continue. She might mention where she put her."
"Right!"
Kagome scanned down the page a little, and began reading.
"Today I'm so tired. I've been here for a week. I wrote all that down within the past few days, and now I've got a hand cramp."
"I was in my room, walking around. I've got the girl in my arms, and she's so silent. She rarely cries. I still haven't named her. Another thing she's got that separates her from the other kids born this year. Though, technically she wasn't born this year.
She was born five hundred years ago. And yet, it has only been at least a month ago.
Time travel is confusing, I sighed.
"I'm such a selfish mother," I said, smiling ruefully down the child in my arms, "I guess I should tell you now, while I know you won't remember.
I was born too late sweetie. Im the reincarnation of one of the most powerful mikos in the world. Her name was Kikyou-"
My little girl began to cry, and I shushed her gently, "I know, I know. I didn't like her either. Well, technically, I didn't know her...she was dead. But...Well, never mind that. The point is, I am her reincarnated self. And you my dear, you are the reincarnation of the most powerful miko ever. Her name was Midoriko. Her soul resides within me, but it is also within you. You're such a powerful girl. You don't even know.
Your father is a hanyou. I love him, even after learning that he still loves my incarnation. That's why you have to know that you are not a mistake. If anything, you're the best thing I've ever done, especially with him.
But, now, knowing what I do, I'm running away. I'm going to fix my mistake through you."
I stopped when another woman walked in.
"Well child, my services have not been called upon in years. And never by a miko."
"I call you, youkai, because you share my power to see the Shikon no Tama. As you know though, a miko cannot see the jewel if it is in the body it was reincarnated into. So I need you to locate it, and remove it for me."
"And, what makes you think I shall not take it for myself?" the old woman asked.
"Because," I smile, "we both know you have no need for it."
This youkai cannot use the jewel. She's already got everything she needs. I plan on asking her to watch over Kagome while I'm gone...since I'll be gone.
The youkai laughed and nodded, before kneeling down before the me and clawing into my ankle. There was a shooting pain as the youkai reached into my flesh and grabs a small spherical pink jewel from my ankle.
"Thank you," I said, breathing heavily, as I reached for the jewel.
"It is my pleasure. But tell me, before I go. What is it a miko like you could want with the jewel? You've been defiled by a demon...no, a hanyou, and you now hold a small child with demon blood within her. You're no longer pure...is that what you wish for?"
"No, that is not. I'm going to wish for my daughter to be safe after I leave."
The youkai laughed, "So you're wishing for her purity? Very well. You're not the first to wish for that, though you may be the first to follow through with it."
I gave the youkai woman a bitter look, "I know all about the story of Inu-Yasha and Kikyou. You may take your leave now."
The woman vanished, but I know she heard my wish for her to watch over the girl, and my child looked at me and I started talking to her.
"I'm going to take away everything inside of you that is from your father. You will be my child, and my child only. The jewel, and our combined powers will make you a pure miko by time you're fifteen. Just like me. So by time you discover the powers of our well, your identity won't be known to your father. If all goes well...they'll believe you to be the reincarnation of Kikyou.
And you're going to hate it. You're going to wonder why you were cursed with a soul you can't live up to. But I want you to know this, and remember it forever. You are not Kikyou. You are not anyone but yourself.
I suppose if I had learned that lesson earlier, I might have been a bit more self-assured. But it wouldn't have helped me too much I guess.
One day though, you're learn that you're not her. You're the most powerful little girl in the world. The most special child ever. You're my daughter. But above everything, you're you."
I opened my daughter's mouth, and put the jewel inside of it, helping her to swallow it down. The first pure wish in years was made upon the jewel, and it shines from within the girl's body.
A knock on the door filled my room, and I turned to the sound.
"Come in Hika."
My sister came in the room, and I realized how much we look alike. More than the usual sister resemblance. That just made my plan easier though.
"Are...are you done?"
"I am...Hikari?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me you'll take good care of her?"
"I will Ka-chan. I will. What did you name her?"
"I haven't yet," she admitted, shyly looking out the window, where a group of kids were playing on the shrine grounds, singing a song that I remembered singing to the Naraku one night . . . and how much he hated that song.
"She's Kagome."
"Kagome...I like it Kareshi."
"Yeah, me too."
That's what happened before I left. My sister is going to raise my daughter, and I'm going to be hiding. I'm such a selfish mother."
Kagome realized, as she closed the book, that everyone had let their guard down.
So many things were running through her head. How did her mother know what it felt like to be Kikyou's reincarnation if she had left before she had to deal with it? How could her 'mother' keep this secret from her? NARAKU was her father?
But...she felt happy more than anything she was happy, and that made her feel a bit guilty.
Because she was NOT Kikyou's reincarnation.