Disclaimer: Inuyasha has hundreds of thousands of fans… I
got one review for the last chapter and none before that, you do the math.
AN: *laughs at her own story* Oh boy, I only got one review for the last
chapter, but no problem… at least someone's reviewing. Oh wells, I hope you
enjoy this chapter!! Also, for the opening scene here… I don't know if it
actually works, but if someone wants to try it out, tell me if it does!!
Icari
Chapter 11
Kagome carefully poured about a half a
cup of hot wax into the shallow bowl, watching as it caught onto some twigs at
the top, and then seemingly splatter at the bottom, forming a cup-like shape.
She then picked it out of the water and tested it; to see if it would float.
"Kagome? What are you doing?" Her mother
walked up to the counter where the young teen was working and studied another
bit of wax as it floated to the bottom. Before Kagome could answer, Sota saw
what she was doing.
"Sis! Cool, you're making those boats
again? I haven't done that since I was… well… I forget." They both gave a laugh
and Kagome put down the large pot she had been pouring the wax out of. Making
sure it was safe to look away from the warming pot, she turned to her mother.
"Well… Mom, I've been playing with
candles and fire since I was ten… should it be a surprise for you…" She laughed
again at the disapproving look the older woman gave her. "Don't worry, Sota and
I both know how to be careful." She patted her brother's head and he nodded
enthusiastically. "Anyways, a while afterwards, I learned how to make this boat
things. As soon as the wood dries, you can make them float on water and lit the
middle up so that it will float out into the water and be a little candle.
"I'll show you the as soon as I can."
Then, Kagome turned to her brother. "Sota, I know you like these things but…
I'm going to be bringing about half of them into Feudal Japan with me. You can
keep the other half, and when you're old enough, I'll show you how to make
them." Her brother grinned.
"Okay, I'll still get half."
"Good, now that that's settled, Mom,
this small one's done, here let me show you this." Kagome picked up a few
matches and led her mom and brother to the pool in the shrine. Placing the boat
into the water, Kagome lit a match.
"Sota, care to do the honors?" Their
mother watched, a bit worried, as Kagome passed the match to her brother. He
took it eagerly, and dropped it into the "boat" quickly. The wood inside of the
wax began to burn and Kagome pushed it into the pond, letting it float out. "It's
much nicer in the dark, Sota will show you someday, but it's still fun in the
day.
"Doesn't the wax get separated and start
to float off?" Their mother questioned, watching a bit of the boat fall into
the water.
"Yes, but usually, there's still some
wood in it to keep it burning, and then the wax eventually disappears. But, if
there's and leftovers, Sota and I usually get it. The wax is drawn to the
sides, where we collect it." The piece that had fallen off floated to the side,
and Sota went to collect it. "We dry these and reuse it, even though it took a
while for Sota to learn that."
"Hey, I was way younger than you." Sota
threw the wax bit at her, which landed harmlessly in her legs. Kagome smiled
and got up.
"I have to go finish these before Inuyasha
gets impatient." She waved and bounded off.
*~*~*~*~*
"Finally, wench, I was starting to think
that you were going to be late, again." Inuyasha watched impatiently as Kagome
climbed out of the well. Kagome
glared at Inuyasha; annoyed at the fact
that he would not help her. But, an arm came up from behind her and lifted her,
by her bag, onto the ground.
"Baby Brother! Help a lady when she
needs it, will you?" She looked at him in mock anger. Then, her eyes darted to
Kagome's pack and her nose itched. "Oi, Kagome, what is that smell?"
The younger girl smiled. "You'll have to
wait until tonight to find out; I want to show you it when it's at its best."
She then walked past Inuyasha and through the path towards the village. Icari
and Inuyasha looked at each other and shrugged, before finally going after her.
When they reached the
village, Shippo instantly noticed the smell. When questioned, Kagome had given
the same answer; that she'd show him later. Icari watched as the little fox
cutely trudged back to Kiara and start to play with the little cat-thing.
"Well? Are we ready to go yet?" Inuyasha
practically barked at them all, and his older siblings both gave him a glare.
Icari, for being so rude, and Sesshomaru for interrupting him. Kagome scoffed.
"This coming from the guy who scared the
hell out of everyone not too long ago… Hey, Icari, did you manage to find
anything on what we're supposed to do next?"
After Inuyasha had waken up and was
nearly recovered, Icari had told everyone about speaking to her father, minus
some details, and everyone had tried their best on ideas, but it was clear that
the riddle was a family secret.
"What was it he said that was so
confusing anyways?" Rin piped up. For a while now, the girl-grown-up hadn't
been saying much, and this startled some people. But, she did have a point, and
everyone looked at the woman youkai.
"He told me a lot of things that don't
make sense. Such as, for example, the fact that the last sword had something to
do with the Shikon No Tama, but he didn't know anything about the talismans. I
suppose there might be nothing at all, but I can't help but think that those
four talismans have something to do with our family, they are strangely
familiar…" Icari trailed off as she gripped her talisman inside of her cape.
Something about these rocks drew her to them.
"I've never felt anything… maybe it's
just you." Sesshomaru gave his sister a sideways glance from his spot leaning
against the wall. Icari opened her mouth to retort, but closed it hopelessly.
"I guess so…"
"Can we just go now??" Inuyasha, who had
lost his patience, snapped at everyone, but only managed to make Icari mad
enough to use her sword to cut a giant leaf in halve and throw the slimy stuff
inside at Inuyasha's mouth, effectively silencing him. Sighing Kagome stood up.
"Inuyasha has a point, rude as it might've
been, we should keep going. If we don't understand it now, there will be some
time when this all comes together, right? We'll figure it out with time, but
for now… we still have to concentrate on the other half of the Shikon no Tama…"
"And why must I help my half-breed
brother?" Inuyasha glared at him, unable to speak due to some of the sticky
stuff still on his trap. Icari, though, still have full use of her mouth.
"Because, dear big Brother, I have
waited too long to have this family together and there is no way in hell I'm
going to let you split us up over some grudge. Now, let's just go." And so they
left, with some villagers peering at them, asking each other if the abnormal "pack"
had been that cause of all the ruckus.
*~*~*~*~*
"Kagome… it's dark, can't you show us
what that is??" Shippo cried from Kagome's shoulder, but the girl only smiled
at the little kitsune.
"I'm sorry Shippo, but I have to find a
pond, and Inuyasha has to decide it's time to rest." The little boy pouted,
and, with a bit of hesitation, bounded onto the said dog hanyou's shoulder to
continue his pleading.
"Inuyasha… can we please rest?? I've
been waiting all day…" and then, with a lecherous smile, he leaned into
Inuyasha's ear to whisper to him. "If you stop, you might get the chance of
seeing Kagome bathing…" Inuyasha's ears twitched and he lunged at the fox boy
who was still on his shoulder.
"Why you little brat. I ought to…"
"Owsuari." The was a loud crash, and
when the dust cleared, the group saw a dancing Shippo staying just out of arm's
reach for Inuyasha, having the time of his life. "Shippo, come back here before
the spell wears off. Inuyasha, maybe we should rest here so that you can nurse
back your sore back…"
Inuyasha cursed, but seeing how Kagome
was intent on staying somewhere, he decided to heed Kagome's words. They set up
camp, and then followed the future miko to a nearby pond where she pulled out
some greenish-brown objects and placed them on the water. Then, she pulled out
what she introduced as matches to the few that hadn't seen them, and struck the
things against a rock. Lighting up the little boat, Kagome then let them float
out into the middle of the pond.
The group watched in awe, most of them
showing it, as the things carried the fire out into the pond, then slowly
crumble into smaller pieces of fire. They soon nearly cover the entire pond,
and made it look like a sea of fire. Flames of a few different shapes, sizes,
and even colors danced across the pond's surface until, very slowly, flickering
out.
"Neat, isn't it?" She looked at the
group of people staring as the display finished. A thought suddenly occurred to
her that they might've as well of been the ancestors of some of her friends
back in her time.
"That's amazing Kagome! Where'd you
learn to do that?" Icari gasped in wonder.
"Actually, I made it up myself to
entertain my little brother when he was younger. It suddenly occurred to me
that you might like to see it too." She grinned as Shippo swiveled around in
her lap.
"Kagome, can we see it again??" the boy
put on his best puppy face that was hard to resist, but Kagome, having
encountered this before, told him no.
"I only have a limited supply, and you
want to see it again another night, don't you?" The boy nodded eagerly. "Besides,
it might come in handy sometime. We could probably use it for a couple of
things. I just haven't thought of what yet."
"Besides, we left the camp untended, and
I don't like doing that for long." Sango interrupted them. "Let's go."
*~*~*~*~*
Kikyo sat in a small cave, meditating.
With her mind's eye, she watched as pictures of a forgotten childhood flickered
through her. Old ones, of her playing with her younger sister as kids, although
already with the responsibility of the jewel. She watched those events again,
over and over, before wishing that she could have her life back. It was so
unfair that she had had such responsibilities as a child, and it were those
same responsibilities that brought her downfall.
About to finish up, Kikyo saw a flash of
an image, from the deepest depths of her mind. When she tried to bring it back,
it was already too far gone, but she had caught wisps of it. A dark figure… and
a shadowed object. Something round glinted in the light, and the Jewel, as it
glowed. Kikyo's eyes shot open in realization.
"Of course…"