The Simplest Things
By: dragonfly-rising
The group of three that went, leaving behind a troubled Kaede and Shippo, found Kagome kneeling at the base of the god tree with a forlorn look upon her face as she stared at it. They came up behind her quietly unsure as to what they should say or do. Kagome was the first to break the tense silence.
"It won't answer me," She said in her new soft way.
Her voice conveyed such disbelief that Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango traded worried glances with each other. Inuyasha scowled, disturbed by the entire notion that the tree itself had a will to answer the girl.
"What do you mean exactly Kagome?" Sango asked kneeling next to the girl.
Kagome did not move to look at Sango, keeping her eyes fastened on the tree ahead of her. Tears coursed unchecked down her cheeks.
"It said that I needed to bring Inuyasha to it. It refused to speak with me." Kagome answered cryptically.
"Why me?" Inuyasha snapped before he was aware he would do so.
"Youkai's have strong connections to nature Inuyasha. They have the ability to tap into the life forces of just about anything under the sun." Kagome explained.
"I'm not talking to a tree." Inuyasha replied dismissively.
"Inuyasha" Miroku hissed angrily.
"What?" He asked annoyed by the entire affair "You're the monk you go talk to the damn tree!"
"It didn't ask for me Inuyasha it asked for you. Maybe we'll get some answers from it." Miroku suggested.
Inuyasha snorted, "It's a tree for crying out loud...it can't give us answers!"
Kagome stood in that moment and approached Inuyasha in a short burst of speed that shocked the hanyou. From one second to the next she stood face to face with him, her strange green eyes almost glowing with the anger held in them. Inuyasha met her gaze steadily enough though his heartbeat raced with some unknown discomfort.
"Do not misunderstand me Inuyasha my guardian is a living being one that I was born from. I will not stand by and allow you to insult it simply because you are ignorant of what it is. It may not speak aloud but that has never been a standard by which living beings are compared. It has known centuries of history and has existed since long before your father stepped foot in the Western Lands. You will afford it the courtesy of seeing it as a thinking entity or I swear..."
"You'll what Kagome?" He interrupted in a gentle voice.
Inwardly he had grown uneasy. There had been something besides anger coloring her voice as she spoke to him. His instincts had gone wild as she continued with her speech telling him to prepare himself for an attack. A strange concept that Kagome had become a thing of nature, by being so when angered could, and would lash out dangerously had entered his mind causing his disquiet. Even now her face was tight with barely repressed rage and he knew she was holding back from physically attacking him. Her body was taunt, her shoulders held ridged.
"What would you do Kagome?" Miroku asked from beside her.
Inuyasha felt his ears twitch in surprise though he kept his eyes steadily locked with Kagome's. He had not noticed that the monk had moved so close to them. For a split second Inuyasha thought Kagome would lash out at Miroku instead of him, darkness passed over her face that drew it into a scorn filled mask. The darkness was gone so quickly that Inuyasha thought he had imagined it, wanted badly to have imagined it. Kagome blinked and her eyes slid from his to the ground. With that motion he knew she was well aware of what he had seen. Disturbed Inuyasha looked at Miroku who only shook his head imperceptibly. Inuyasha sighed heavily. He realized belatedly that he was going to do just as Kagome had asked him no matter how he had reacted in the first place. There was something behind her eyes that screamed a lonely call to his soul and he could not bare the feeling of his own internal scream answering her's. How he felt or had felt for all this time should never have touched Kagome in such a profound way and he resented the reflection of his own inner turmoil.
"You'll have to show me how to speak with it Kagome I have never done something like this before." Inuyasha offered thinking himself a fool for being the first to speak.
Kagome nodded and motioned for him to follow her, which he did hesitantly. Once at the tree she stopped and raised a hand, palm open without turning to face him. He understood her meaning and placed his clawed one in her's. She gently positioned his open palm against the bark of the tree, lacing her fingers with his so that they both were in contact with the tree. The ends of her fingers seemed to slide into the bark locking his palm against it. Inuyasha closed his eyes fighting the urge to rip away from the girl's firm grip. With all his being he loathed to touch this particular tree for any span of time. He knew his distaste for it stemmed from being trapped against it for those fifty years; he could not suppress the shudder of revulsion that swept through his body as he waited for this entity to speak to him. He hated it for what it symbolized to him. His greatest personal failures were represented by this tree and he had not wanted ever to be near it again, had only forced himself to due to Kagome's strange obsession with it.
Inside his mind Inuyasha more felt then heard a strange song that seemed to settle deep into his muscles, causing them to throb in time with it. Disturb he attempted to pull away from the tree only to find himself completely aware of the approach of an entity that exuded such an overwhelming sense of presence that Inuyasha unwittingly began to whimper soundlessly.
By: dragonfly-rising
The group of three that went, leaving behind a troubled Kaede and Shippo, found Kagome kneeling at the base of the god tree with a forlorn look upon her face as she stared at it. They came up behind her quietly unsure as to what they should say or do. Kagome was the first to break the tense silence.
"It won't answer me," She said in her new soft way.
Her voice conveyed such disbelief that Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango traded worried glances with each other. Inuyasha scowled, disturbed by the entire notion that the tree itself had a will to answer the girl.
"What do you mean exactly Kagome?" Sango asked kneeling next to the girl.
Kagome did not move to look at Sango, keeping her eyes fastened on the tree ahead of her. Tears coursed unchecked down her cheeks.
"It said that I needed to bring Inuyasha to it. It refused to speak with me." Kagome answered cryptically.
"Why me?" Inuyasha snapped before he was aware he would do so.
"Youkai's have strong connections to nature Inuyasha. They have the ability to tap into the life forces of just about anything under the sun." Kagome explained.
"I'm not talking to a tree." Inuyasha replied dismissively.
"Inuyasha" Miroku hissed angrily.
"What?" He asked annoyed by the entire affair "You're the monk you go talk to the damn tree!"
"It didn't ask for me Inuyasha it asked for you. Maybe we'll get some answers from it." Miroku suggested.
Inuyasha snorted, "It's a tree for crying out loud...it can't give us answers!"
Kagome stood in that moment and approached Inuyasha in a short burst of speed that shocked the hanyou. From one second to the next she stood face to face with him, her strange green eyes almost glowing with the anger held in them. Inuyasha met her gaze steadily enough though his heartbeat raced with some unknown discomfort.
"Do not misunderstand me Inuyasha my guardian is a living being one that I was born from. I will not stand by and allow you to insult it simply because you are ignorant of what it is. It may not speak aloud but that has never been a standard by which living beings are compared. It has known centuries of history and has existed since long before your father stepped foot in the Western Lands. You will afford it the courtesy of seeing it as a thinking entity or I swear..."
"You'll what Kagome?" He interrupted in a gentle voice.
Inwardly he had grown uneasy. There had been something besides anger coloring her voice as she spoke to him. His instincts had gone wild as she continued with her speech telling him to prepare himself for an attack. A strange concept that Kagome had become a thing of nature, by being so when angered could, and would lash out dangerously had entered his mind causing his disquiet. Even now her face was tight with barely repressed rage and he knew she was holding back from physically attacking him. Her body was taunt, her shoulders held ridged.
"What would you do Kagome?" Miroku asked from beside her.
Inuyasha felt his ears twitch in surprise though he kept his eyes steadily locked with Kagome's. He had not noticed that the monk had moved so close to them. For a split second Inuyasha thought Kagome would lash out at Miroku instead of him, darkness passed over her face that drew it into a scorn filled mask. The darkness was gone so quickly that Inuyasha thought he had imagined it, wanted badly to have imagined it. Kagome blinked and her eyes slid from his to the ground. With that motion he knew she was well aware of what he had seen. Disturbed Inuyasha looked at Miroku who only shook his head imperceptibly. Inuyasha sighed heavily. He realized belatedly that he was going to do just as Kagome had asked him no matter how he had reacted in the first place. There was something behind her eyes that screamed a lonely call to his soul and he could not bare the feeling of his own internal scream answering her's. How he felt or had felt for all this time should never have touched Kagome in such a profound way and he resented the reflection of his own inner turmoil.
"You'll have to show me how to speak with it Kagome I have never done something like this before." Inuyasha offered thinking himself a fool for being the first to speak.
Kagome nodded and motioned for him to follow her, which he did hesitantly. Once at the tree she stopped and raised a hand, palm open without turning to face him. He understood her meaning and placed his clawed one in her's. She gently positioned his open palm against the bark of the tree, lacing her fingers with his so that they both were in contact with the tree. The ends of her fingers seemed to slide into the bark locking his palm against it. Inuyasha closed his eyes fighting the urge to rip away from the girl's firm grip. With all his being he loathed to touch this particular tree for any span of time. He knew his distaste for it stemmed from being trapped against it for those fifty years; he could not suppress the shudder of revulsion that swept through his body as he waited for this entity to speak to him. He hated it for what it symbolized to him. His greatest personal failures were represented by this tree and he had not wanted ever to be near it again, had only forced himself to due to Kagome's strange obsession with it.
Inside his mind Inuyasha more felt then heard a strange song that seemed to settle deep into his muscles, causing them to throb in time with it. Disturb he attempted to pull away from the tree only to find himself completely aware of the approach of an entity that exuded such an overwhelming sense of presence that Inuyasha unwittingly began to whimper soundlessly.
