A/N: Thanks all for the reviews they have been really encouraging and
inspiring maybe a lil too much since my bf has been trying to get me to NOT
read the reviews in case I go off into another story binge lol...happy
reading and be safe...dragonfly-rising
Always My Soul
By: dragonfly-rising
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the characters
Inuyasha watched Kagome as she slept fitfully from his perch in a nearby tree, concerned. The girl tossed and turned, mumbling words, her face covered in sweat. He wondered if he should wake her from the obvious nightmare then decided against it as her powers swept back and forth over her sporadically moving form. He leaned back, his amber eyes dark and brooding.
~* in Kagome's dream *~
Kagome looked around the clearing she was in. A feeling of anger and impatience pervaded the air around her. Overhead dark storm clouds rolled with thunder and she could smell the rain in the air. A figure appeared in front of her. It was The Miko surrounded by an aura of dark miko energy that whipped back and forth, Her eyes wept with mist. It didn't surprise Kagome that The Miko looked exactly like her.
"Why must you interfere?" The Miko asked her angrily.
Kagome shocked herself with the anger that fed into her, "Why are you trying to kill my friends?"
"They are unnecessary, your attention must be elsewhere"
"Like where? You can't just expect me to let you hijack my body and do whatever you want with it without some kind of reason."
The Miko glared at her, "You are a miko it is you duty to surrender to your obligations as such"
"The hell it is! Do mikos do that in this time? Well not this miko! You either explain it or you aren't getting any cooperation from me!" She responded rudely.
The Miko's energy shifted restlessly and Kagome thought She was going to attack her. Instead She smiled proudly.
"You have spirit. That is good. You will need it in the oncoming battle"
"With Naraku?" Kagome responded confused.
The Miko snorted contemptuously. "That glorified youkai is of the Shikon Jewel. That is of Midoriko not of you. I speak of another danger one that only you can stop. This should have been the undead miko's responsibility had she lived. She did not so now it falls to you to finish."
"Kikyo?"
"Is there another undead miko walking this earth?"
Kagome rolled her eyes; The Miko obviously couldn't help but treat even her with contempt.
"What exactly is this oncoming battle then?" Kagome asked switching subjects. She wondered if she would ever be comfortable talking about Kikyo though she doubted it.
"The priest of the Temple of the Soul"
"I have to fight him?"
The Miko laughed, "He is the door to the real fight. He will attempt to heal you; he will not be able to do this. Things such as this do not happen by accident Kagome. I was needed to guide you in this since you are not of this time and know nothing of the greater workings. Yensa was not acting on her own; she is a servant to the One you will have to seal away into the Void."
"Huh?"
Kagome was becoming thoroughly confused, "Please stop talking like that. I know I don't understand a lot of what happens in this time but you aren't helping any."
The Miko shook her head, " You needed access to you powers...all of them right now. Yensa was manipulated into using her mirror on you so such a thing could occur. I was sent here in order to help you understand everything that was being given to you. You wake with a feeling of impatience do you not?"
Kagome nodded her head slowly.
"Your powers know the time is coming for you to meet Usuti, to meet the greater youkai lord Ferlias. It is important that you listen to you powers Kagome, it is important that you allow nothing to distract you. It is imperative that you allow no one to come before this world's survival. Ferlias is much like Naraku except that he has much larger plans for this world. Did it never occur to you that most of the greater youkai lords have either perished or disappeared from this world?"
Kagome was taken aback; she had never questioned the fact that the larger youkai lords, like Inuyasha's father, were gone. It was just a fact of this era as far as she knew.
"Mikos such as Midoriko and Kikyo were created to seal such creatures away from this world. They do not belong here, not with such limitless power at their disposal. Mikos are the balance to these powers, the strength of such women make it possible for those without power to exist which are the exact ones most at risk. You are such a miko Kagome. You are The Miko of this era and your own. Those that govern this balance intended for you to be whole but there were happenstances that were beyond Their control and you were made less."
The skies overhead darkened considerably as The Miko said this and Kagome felt a sliver of real fear slip into her heart. Was this persona telling her that Kikyo's death was beyond just a tragic turn of events?
The Miko's cloudy eyes seemed sad, "You are correct in that Kagome. Kikyo was never meant to die at that time. She was supposed to have lived to fight Ferlias herself. Naraku saw to it that this never came to pass and so you were born into another era destined to come to this one to fill the emptiness left by her death."
Kagome felt tears fill her eyes " So I am just a copy of Kikyo"
It had been some time since this old familiar ache had reared its ugly head inside Kagome's heart. Now it blossomed into something new and atrocious. She had only been born to pick up Kikyo's pieces and finish what Kikyo had been born to do. She was worse then a copy she was an empty shell. Lightening crashed overhead and Kagome jumped.
"You are as you have always been. You are Kagome, the most powerful miko of your own time. Did it never occur to you that none else would've survived what was done to you? That none else would have lived with only a partial soul? That none else could have shattered such a thing as the Shikon Jewel?"
"And what good do those things do me", She asked through angry tears, "All that tells me is that I'm a fool for thinking that I'm just Kagome not Kikyo! Because I'm just a thing not even a real person! Because all I'm good for is doing what Kikyo would've done if Onigumo hadn't fallen in love with her! Because all I'll ever feel when Inuyasha looks at me is that he SHOULD see Kikyo! All you are really saying is that whoever THEY are gave me a little bit extra when making me so that Kikyo could be resurrected and I could still do HER job!"
Lightening struck the space between her and The Miko yet Kagome held her ground, not even flinching.
"If you would understand what it is you must do then you will have to understand who you are! It is not THEIR responsibility that humans have freewill and do with it things such as Onigumo do. You must understand that once certain events are set in motion there is no way to turn the tide at the pinnacle of its momentum. Until your birth there was no choice in a miko being born with as much power as you have. Here in this time Midoriko and Kikyo were the ONLY mikos in existence. Mikos do not just happen; they are born for a purpose. They create the balance that keeps such creatures as Ferlias trapped. Now BECAUSE Kikyo is resurrected the balance has been altered so severely that Ferlias can reach out beyond his chains in the other world and influence youkai to destroy humans entirely. You cannot allow yourself to feel inferior to such as Kikyo who is not the creature she once was. You were created to balance the powers Kagome just as Kikyo was WHEN she was alive. You were not created to live Kikyo's life that she was unable to."
Even hearing the words of logic from the Miko didn't help Kagome's heartache. There was too much reasoning for Inuyasha to have every right to resent her existence.
The Miko sighed quietly, "Humans are such fragile creatures. So hard upon them selves when in the middle of self doubt. It is a wonder that you still exist. This "love" it is very important to you?"
Kagome grit her teeth before answering, "It's everything"
"And this is why you fight me as I attempt to rid you of distractions?"
"You know for someone made out of me you really have no clue at all about me"
"I was never meant to...I was only to get you where you needed to be"
"Sounds familiar...neither one of us seems to have any other purpose then to further someone else's goals"
"As you are now you are useless. You cannot hope to triumph in a battle where your heart is all that will save you when you have so little trust in that very love"
"Then you take over...I don't want to do this anymore" Kagome muttered disillusioned.
"If that is what you wish"
Kagome looked at the Miko then. Her eyes were calming to a light blue, though the mist still leaked down her cheeks in cloudy tears. Her face seemed solemn and caring as if through the talk the Miko had gained some sense of emotion. Kagome reasoned this was because the Miko had begun to question emotion. Kagome felt exhausted.
"Protect my friends...I just need time...please," she asked of this entity that so far had not proven the trustworthiest with what she valued most.
The Miko nodded slowly and Kagome found herself in her own bedroom looking at her bed feeling utterly lost and worn out. With no thought she crawled into bed sighing in pleasure and fell instantly to sleep.
Watching the young girl from across the room the Miko frowned with concern. Another entity appeared beside her, an old man with laughing green eyes and a snow-white beard. He was dressed in a flowing white robe. His kind face was drawn in worry.
~ Will she return? ~ He asked silently.
~ I am unsure ~ She answered.
~ It is imperative that she does...everything depends upon her ~
~ I am well aware of that. Perhaps her companions will be able to help her return. I had not realized that telling her such truths would affect her so ~
The old man sighed noiselessly ~ Humans are so breakable at times...especially when it comes to affairs of the heart ~
She nodded ~ I have things I must do...perhaps Kagome will realize the truth before it is too late ~
The Miko faded until there was nothing left except the sleeping girl and the old man. He watched Kagome for a moment then walked over to her bedside. He gently pulled the blankets over her shoulders and brushed hair away from her face.
~ Come back soon little miko...we are in desperate need of you ~ he told her sleeping form then settled on the bed next to her looking down at her as a father would.
Always My Soul
By: dragonfly-rising
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the characters
Inuyasha watched Kagome as she slept fitfully from his perch in a nearby tree, concerned. The girl tossed and turned, mumbling words, her face covered in sweat. He wondered if he should wake her from the obvious nightmare then decided against it as her powers swept back and forth over her sporadically moving form. He leaned back, his amber eyes dark and brooding.
~* in Kagome's dream *~
Kagome looked around the clearing she was in. A feeling of anger and impatience pervaded the air around her. Overhead dark storm clouds rolled with thunder and she could smell the rain in the air. A figure appeared in front of her. It was The Miko surrounded by an aura of dark miko energy that whipped back and forth, Her eyes wept with mist. It didn't surprise Kagome that The Miko looked exactly like her.
"Why must you interfere?" The Miko asked her angrily.
Kagome shocked herself with the anger that fed into her, "Why are you trying to kill my friends?"
"They are unnecessary, your attention must be elsewhere"
"Like where? You can't just expect me to let you hijack my body and do whatever you want with it without some kind of reason."
The Miko glared at her, "You are a miko it is you duty to surrender to your obligations as such"
"The hell it is! Do mikos do that in this time? Well not this miko! You either explain it or you aren't getting any cooperation from me!" She responded rudely.
The Miko's energy shifted restlessly and Kagome thought She was going to attack her. Instead She smiled proudly.
"You have spirit. That is good. You will need it in the oncoming battle"
"With Naraku?" Kagome responded confused.
The Miko snorted contemptuously. "That glorified youkai is of the Shikon Jewel. That is of Midoriko not of you. I speak of another danger one that only you can stop. This should have been the undead miko's responsibility had she lived. She did not so now it falls to you to finish."
"Kikyo?"
"Is there another undead miko walking this earth?"
Kagome rolled her eyes; The Miko obviously couldn't help but treat even her with contempt.
"What exactly is this oncoming battle then?" Kagome asked switching subjects. She wondered if she would ever be comfortable talking about Kikyo though she doubted it.
"The priest of the Temple of the Soul"
"I have to fight him?"
The Miko laughed, "He is the door to the real fight. He will attempt to heal you; he will not be able to do this. Things such as this do not happen by accident Kagome. I was needed to guide you in this since you are not of this time and know nothing of the greater workings. Yensa was not acting on her own; she is a servant to the One you will have to seal away into the Void."
"Huh?"
Kagome was becoming thoroughly confused, "Please stop talking like that. I know I don't understand a lot of what happens in this time but you aren't helping any."
The Miko shook her head, " You needed access to you powers...all of them right now. Yensa was manipulated into using her mirror on you so such a thing could occur. I was sent here in order to help you understand everything that was being given to you. You wake with a feeling of impatience do you not?"
Kagome nodded her head slowly.
"Your powers know the time is coming for you to meet Usuti, to meet the greater youkai lord Ferlias. It is important that you listen to you powers Kagome, it is important that you allow nothing to distract you. It is imperative that you allow no one to come before this world's survival. Ferlias is much like Naraku except that he has much larger plans for this world. Did it never occur to you that most of the greater youkai lords have either perished or disappeared from this world?"
Kagome was taken aback; she had never questioned the fact that the larger youkai lords, like Inuyasha's father, were gone. It was just a fact of this era as far as she knew.
"Mikos such as Midoriko and Kikyo were created to seal such creatures away from this world. They do not belong here, not with such limitless power at their disposal. Mikos are the balance to these powers, the strength of such women make it possible for those without power to exist which are the exact ones most at risk. You are such a miko Kagome. You are The Miko of this era and your own. Those that govern this balance intended for you to be whole but there were happenstances that were beyond Their control and you were made less."
The skies overhead darkened considerably as The Miko said this and Kagome felt a sliver of real fear slip into her heart. Was this persona telling her that Kikyo's death was beyond just a tragic turn of events?
The Miko's cloudy eyes seemed sad, "You are correct in that Kagome. Kikyo was never meant to die at that time. She was supposed to have lived to fight Ferlias herself. Naraku saw to it that this never came to pass and so you were born into another era destined to come to this one to fill the emptiness left by her death."
Kagome felt tears fill her eyes " So I am just a copy of Kikyo"
It had been some time since this old familiar ache had reared its ugly head inside Kagome's heart. Now it blossomed into something new and atrocious. She had only been born to pick up Kikyo's pieces and finish what Kikyo had been born to do. She was worse then a copy she was an empty shell. Lightening crashed overhead and Kagome jumped.
"You are as you have always been. You are Kagome, the most powerful miko of your own time. Did it never occur to you that none else would've survived what was done to you? That none else would have lived with only a partial soul? That none else could have shattered such a thing as the Shikon Jewel?"
"And what good do those things do me", She asked through angry tears, "All that tells me is that I'm a fool for thinking that I'm just Kagome not Kikyo! Because I'm just a thing not even a real person! Because all I'm good for is doing what Kikyo would've done if Onigumo hadn't fallen in love with her! Because all I'll ever feel when Inuyasha looks at me is that he SHOULD see Kikyo! All you are really saying is that whoever THEY are gave me a little bit extra when making me so that Kikyo could be resurrected and I could still do HER job!"
Lightening struck the space between her and The Miko yet Kagome held her ground, not even flinching.
"If you would understand what it is you must do then you will have to understand who you are! It is not THEIR responsibility that humans have freewill and do with it things such as Onigumo do. You must understand that once certain events are set in motion there is no way to turn the tide at the pinnacle of its momentum. Until your birth there was no choice in a miko being born with as much power as you have. Here in this time Midoriko and Kikyo were the ONLY mikos in existence. Mikos do not just happen; they are born for a purpose. They create the balance that keeps such creatures as Ferlias trapped. Now BECAUSE Kikyo is resurrected the balance has been altered so severely that Ferlias can reach out beyond his chains in the other world and influence youkai to destroy humans entirely. You cannot allow yourself to feel inferior to such as Kikyo who is not the creature she once was. You were created to balance the powers Kagome just as Kikyo was WHEN she was alive. You were not created to live Kikyo's life that she was unable to."
Even hearing the words of logic from the Miko didn't help Kagome's heartache. There was too much reasoning for Inuyasha to have every right to resent her existence.
The Miko sighed quietly, "Humans are such fragile creatures. So hard upon them selves when in the middle of self doubt. It is a wonder that you still exist. This "love" it is very important to you?"
Kagome grit her teeth before answering, "It's everything"
"And this is why you fight me as I attempt to rid you of distractions?"
"You know for someone made out of me you really have no clue at all about me"
"I was never meant to...I was only to get you where you needed to be"
"Sounds familiar...neither one of us seems to have any other purpose then to further someone else's goals"
"As you are now you are useless. You cannot hope to triumph in a battle where your heart is all that will save you when you have so little trust in that very love"
"Then you take over...I don't want to do this anymore" Kagome muttered disillusioned.
"If that is what you wish"
Kagome looked at the Miko then. Her eyes were calming to a light blue, though the mist still leaked down her cheeks in cloudy tears. Her face seemed solemn and caring as if through the talk the Miko had gained some sense of emotion. Kagome reasoned this was because the Miko had begun to question emotion. Kagome felt exhausted.
"Protect my friends...I just need time...please," she asked of this entity that so far had not proven the trustworthiest with what she valued most.
The Miko nodded slowly and Kagome found herself in her own bedroom looking at her bed feeling utterly lost and worn out. With no thought she crawled into bed sighing in pleasure and fell instantly to sleep.
Watching the young girl from across the room the Miko frowned with concern. Another entity appeared beside her, an old man with laughing green eyes and a snow-white beard. He was dressed in a flowing white robe. His kind face was drawn in worry.
~ Will she return? ~ He asked silently.
~ I am unsure ~ She answered.
~ It is imperative that she does...everything depends upon her ~
~ I am well aware of that. Perhaps her companions will be able to help her return. I had not realized that telling her such truths would affect her so ~
The old man sighed noiselessly ~ Humans are so breakable at times...especially when it comes to affairs of the heart ~
She nodded ~ I have things I must do...perhaps Kagome will realize the truth before it is too late ~
The Miko faded until there was nothing left except the sleeping girl and the old man. He watched Kagome for a moment then walked over to her bedside. He gently pulled the blankets over her shoulders and brushed hair away from her face.
~ Come back soon little miko...we are in desperate need of you ~ he told her sleeping form then settled on the bed next to her looking down at her as a father would.