Kindred Spirits
An Inu Yasha and Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: I still do not own either series. Suing me won't do any good – I don't have any money.
By request, I have included Kagome's goodbye to her family. However, the end result was a huge amount of text from Kagome's POV. Do not worry, though, there is plenty Saiyuki goodness to go around. I didn't realize until Konzen mentioned it in a review that I hadn't really had the other members of the Sanzo-ikkou make much of an appearance. *Sweatdrop* Believe me, they WILL be in the story.
Review responses can be found in my Live Journal for January 12. Thank you for everyone's support!
Essential Japanese:
Jan-ken-po- Rock-paper-scissors
Hiraikotsu- Sango's boomerang
Sengoku Jidai- era of warring states
Kitsune- fox, often assumed to also be "fox demon"
Kazaana- the Wind Tunnel, or Hellhole, in Miroku's right hand
Maa maa- what Hakkai says when he's trying to get the others to calm down
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Chapter 4: Vacancy
*Earlier that morning*
Kagome glanced at the clock on the wall. It was getting closer to the time she'd have to leave, whether breakfast was over or not. The others understood how hard this was for her – to leave her family with the knowledge that there was a good chance she would not come back. But Higurashi Kagome did not break her promises, especially when there was so much at stake.
The thought of her family brought a bitter taste to her mouth. She had a family. The others did not. Well, not any they could really fall back on for support. Sango's younger brother was still a slave to Naraku's magic, a soulless puppet doing only his master's will. She took that back, Kohaku was almost always a soulless puppet. There were times he escaped the spell, but he could not remember himself or his sister…
It was never spoken on the whereabouts of Miroku's mother, but Kagome assumed that she had died early in the monk's life. His father, obviously, had died of the Kazaana that plagued their family. The Thunder Brothers had killed Shippo's parents. During his coming of age, the Inu-ikkou had met Shippo's uncles, but apparently the tribe had split before Shippo's birth, so he was technically not a member of that branch of the clan anymore. The uncles were simply performing their blood right to their brother's heir, in his memory. After the kitsune had passed his test, they left him to his own devices. Not that the fox demon had minded – he had been traveling with Inu Yasha and the rest of them for two years at that point.
Inu Yasha had apparently never gotten along with his brother even when they were children, but the hatred she had once seen in the two seemed to have ebbed slightly. They still wanted to kill each other, but they didn't try to do so as often. The abated anger was evident when Sesshomaru had recovered his original demon limb from their demon father's tomb. The demon lord had just gotten up and left, seemingly happy with his acquisition, and simply left his brother wondering what had actually happened. He had healed the limb partially with the power of a Shikon shard, and still had this particular part of the jewel in his possession.
Kagome could tell that Sesshomaru hated to admit he needed help in the healing of his arm – he believed he was powerful enough without it. But as long as his arm rejected his own flesh… although the process was slowly healing him. She shuddered at the memory of him regaining his limb – the dog demon was much more fierce when he could fight with an arm he had extensive experience using.
"Kagome, would you like more orange juice?" her mother asked politely, breaking the young woman out of her thoughts.
"Yes please," she answered politely. The truth was, she was full. However, when she looked into her mother's helpless gaze, she knew she needed to do this. I feel like I'm having my last meal before being sent off to battle… Of course, that was what it was. Well, kind of. They weren't going to immediately engage Naraku, but Kagome knew that there was bound to be a long day ahead of her on the road. Her mother handed her the juice, which Kagome decided to drink slowly. Who knows when I'll have orange juice next…
She noted her grandfather's nervousness to her side. True, they were all high strung, but he had the most difficult job of them all. To help contain the demons from possibly coming though to their time when she could not protect them, Kagome's grandfather was going to use special scrolls to seal off the well. He would remove them in a year's time, but not until then. Kaede and Miroku blessed the scrolls themselves, so Kagome knew that they were sure to work. She wouldn't be able to get back even if she tried before then. The entrance would be sealed in the Sengoku Jidai as well.
Even Buyo seemed subdued, not even begging the family for the bacon and cheese on the table. Kagome wanted to cry – so much had changed. Why were they looking at her like she was a ghost? I'm still here! She mentally wailed. I'm not dead!
Everyone but Souta was saddened by the mood; her brother seemed more subdued than anything else. He was trying to hide his feelings for the sake of their mother, and herself. Kagome always knew that the young boy was jealous of his sister's adventures. He longed for her to bring Inu Yasha along, or to just jump into the well and meet the rest of her friends. He had started to take kendo lessons almost immediately after she fell through the well, insisting that he would at least protect their family in her absence. He was the man of the house, after all, since the death of their father. Now, through hard work and dedication, he had become an unofficial kendo master, as well as a demon slayer.
Kagome had realized when her senses grew sharp enough, that Souta had a power similar (in a very small way) to her own. He did not have the power that she did to purify youki, but he had the potential to be a powerful priest. How had he gotten this power? Had it stemmed off of her? Because it was obvious that their grandfather did not have the aura of a priest – despite the fact that he was one. It has still made Kagome feel better, though, to know that someone would be there to protect them.
'Oy, Kagome!" Souta touched her arm, again shaking her from her thoughts. "It's ten to ten."
Kagome finished the last of her juice in one gulp. "Thank you for the meal," she said politely, and rose from her seat. Her weapons belt sat on the chair at the far side of the room. Picking it up, she tightened the strap around her waist and fastened it securely. She then picked up her kodachi and put the sheath in the empty loop, checking its snugness. Following example with the dagger at her right side, Kagome felt again like a soldier going off to battle. She was about to pull the quiver around her head when her mother started to cry.
Kagome was going to have waited until she was completely ready to say her goodbyes, but she knew that the time was now. Kneeling next to her mom, she made a motion to rub her back in support. At the touch of her daughter's hand, the crying woman could not hold it in anymore. Kagome let her mother cry in her arms, forcing tears of her own to stay back. She could tell that her grandfather was trying to do the same. Souta walked over and rubbed his mother's back along with his sister. This made her seem to only sob harder, but the both of them seemed to wordlessly agree – their mother needed this.
"Mom," Kagome said quietly. She waited until her sobbing had relaxed, and looked into her mother's tear-filled eyes. "I'll be ok, I promise." Her mother smiled weakly. She knew that Kagome hated breaking promises. It wasn't in her character.
"But Mom," she said with a hint of humor in her voice, "Will you make some of your world-famous oden for me when I get back?" Kagome had said the magical phrase. The four of them laughed at the absurd request. They always had oden when Kagome came home. Souta had told his sister awhile back that they didn't have it any other time. It had become tradition.
"Some things never change, do they Gramps?" Souta said with a smirk.
"No, I don't believe they do, my boy," he responded with a chuckle.
*Present time*
Leaving her family in significantly better spirits, Kagome bid one last look at the temple grounds. They were swept clean, and looked how it always did. The wind blew, catching her long hair as her childhood flashed back to her. The wind also blew the gentle sent of lilac, and Kagome thought of how much her dream world looked like her home. What brought that on? She thought. One minute she was thinking of home, and the next moment she was thinking of something that didn't seem to be real.
Why was it that she felt as though something was about to happen? Something was always happening, and she knew that she would see many unusual things in the near future. The past was never boring, and it never ceased to amaze her. But why… why could she not take her mind off it? Memory filled of the blonde priest of her dreams.
I can't think of him now. I have more important stuff to deal with. Resolute, she swung her quiver around her back, grabbed her bow, and jumped into the well – not looking back.
"What do you make of it, Doku?" Kougaiji inquired of his second in command. They were at the location in question – a field filled with wildflowers. Well, that was only partly true – it was full of flowers and demon corpses. They had been his men, and how he couldn't even recognize them. He knew by scent, and by location.
The flowers were red, an appropriate color for those who shed their blood here. But where was the presence that had slain them all? Where was his men's killer? WHO could have killed half the Kuromaru squad that I would not know of? Kougaiji knew that not all demons had come to Koushu's side when the minus wave was released throughout the land, but he had spies that kept eyes on the renegades. As long as they did not interfere with the she-fox's plans, the Demon Prince could care less what they did.
Eyeing his Second in Command, he walked over to where Dokugakugi was kneeling. There was an unusual set of tracks in the ground, as if make by a gigantic centipede. Other foreign tracks scattered themselves over the field. Their scent, while slightly cold, was unfamiliar too.
"Demons don't move like this, Kou," Doku said seriously. "Animals do. Insects do.
"The report said that they were slaughtered by a horde of demons. How could we NOT know about a horde of demons, especially in this area?" Doku rose to his feet and looked out across the field.
"Yaone used to use this field for some of her healing powders," the prince remarked quietly. "Luckily, this isn't the only field with flowers she would use for those medicines."
"Does she know that one of her fields was the location we were talking about?" Doku inquired.
"I had to tell her. Yaone was originally going to take Lirin here. She decided on a field in the opposite direction. She would have found out soon enough, anyways."
The two demon men remained silent for a while, walking around to further examine the landscape. As they traced the footsteps of many personal battles, they saw that there were no human shaped demon attackers. While non-human shaped demons did exist in the world, they were few and far between. I would have known if a horde existed in this area, even if Koushu did not. He thought to himself. Yaone would have known if there was a demon horde near one of her fields. She would have told me.
The air also didn't feel right. It was as if an unseen force was pulling at the air, and at the very fabric of their dimension. The demon price couldn't place it, and decided to inquire about it to his second in command.
"Doku, do you feel that?" he asked quietly.
"This place isn't right," he agreed. "It didn't feel like this before – we've all come to help Yaone here on occasion with her herb harvesting. This was a peaceful area."
"It was one of the reasons the herbs and flowers grew so well – there were no disturbances," Kougaiji commented.
Doku nodded, and walked over to where his prince was standing. "Kou, whoever did this is gone. I'd suggest we check more of Yaone's fields, but there isn't any more in this area. They seemed to have headed north into the forest."
"I was thinking that too," Kougaiji agreed. He unconsciously cracked his knuckles in anticipation. I want to find out how and WHY this happened…
As Kagome hoisted herself out of the well, she could tell that they had been waiting for a while. The group was much more solemn than what she was used to. True, they had all matured, as they grew older, but her little brother was right – some things would never change.
Miroku was still in his priestly robes, and he still had the same staff from his youth. It was now slightly rough to look at, but that only held true if you were close to him. He had been offered new ones by various monks from monasteries they had resided in for a night, but he declined each one. Apparently, it had once belonged to his grandfather. The prayer bead still bound his right arm, sealing the Kazaana until he called upon it. Kagome chuckled at the memory of a monastery chastising him for not wearing his prayer beads around his neck. However, when he had shown them why… A few trees from the forest near them no longer existed. They had agreed in the end that Miroku was an exception to the rule. His hair had always been drawn back into a small ponytail, but now the hair was significantly longer. Kagome had to admit that the ponytail suited him well, and they had had to pull the monk away from women on several occasions, because they now found him desirable. Any woman who so much as even considered agreeing to the monk's proposal, however, would be at the business end of Sango's hiraikotsu.
Sango's hair had also grown, and she wore it loosely around her shoulders as she always did when she dressed casually. The woman's face had not changed much, only the grown version of the girl she once was. Her boomerang was slung across her back, the only obvious weapon on her person. Kagome knew better, for the woman was a walking arsenal. How she was able to hide her kodachi under those robes Kagome didn't think she'd ever know.
Shippo had changed the most of them all. When they had first found the fox demon after being orphaned by the Thunder Brothers, Kagome had not known that he was reaching his growth spurt. Kagome did not understand very well how demons grew up, only that many of their offspring were disproportionate to the age their human counterparts were. Shippo had been eight years old they found him, but now he was considered an adult fox demon. He was the same size of Souta, and somehow vaguely reminded Kagome of Inu Yasha when she first met him. He was as tall Inu Yasha used to be, and she knew that he had not stopped growing. At his left side, she saw the kitsune's memento of his coming of age – the Keitou Shakaku – his favorite dagger. He was not to use it often, though, because a fox demon was supposed to be able to fight with their foxfire before using any other kind of weapons. It was still an amazing weapon, however, and few kistune had the opportunity to wield it. But that is another story… she thought with a smile. Shippo did not tie his orange hair back with a ribbon and bow anymore, but by a braided cord Kagome had made a long time ago to help keep him from getting lost. She had poured her energy into the strings, and could call to them when she couldn't find the younger demon. He'd be able to follow the direction the cord had wanted him to go, and it made it easier to congregate as a group in emergency situations. As an adult demon, however, his senses were heightened enough that he did not need them anymore. He still wore it, however, out of tradition, respect, and love for his elder sister-like figure.
Kagome smiled as she looked at the man she loved. While they could not act on their feelings, they (as well as Miroku and Sango) had promised not to get romantically involved with the other until Naraku had been dealt with. That had been years ago, unfortunately, and the strain was growing on the young lovers. But they knew that the moment they officially declared their love in some fashion, Naraku would exploit it. He needed to believe that they only cared for each other as much as just an ordinary comrade. Inu Yasha, while still retaining his sense of self, seemed to look slightly like his elder brother Sesshomaru every day. His features were not as sharp, and he did not have the same markings as the full-blooded demon, but no one could look at the two and NOT see the fact that they were related. He had grown several inches, and seemed to fill in his robes better. He had always seemed to be swimming in them before, but now they fit his figure like they were made to. He had no new weapons – his father's sword the Tetsusaiga was always at his left side. He had always had his claws and fists as well, and Kagome knew that those were enough for the half demon.
Inu Yasha seemed ready to shout out a complaint to Kagome for being late, but noticed her tear stained shirt and changed his mind. She was glad that he was maturing – he knew what it was to loose his family. Kagome was leaving them willingly, which made the decision seem so much harder.
"Are you ready?" he said simply.
The young priestess forced herself not to cry. They didn't have time for that, despite what they'd say if she truly broke down. "Let's go."
I was the one who shattered the Shikon no Tama; it is my responsibility to complete it. I can't be thinking of myself right now…
The small town's inn had only one vacancy. After much argument, two rollaway beds had been brought in for the weary travelers, who seemed about ready to kill each other. Well, a short brunette and a tall red head, anyways.
"I get this bed because I sat down on it first!" Son Goku protested. "That makes it mine!"
"I'm not sleeping with your stupid feet in my face!" Sha Gojyo retorted. "Your snoring is hard enough to deal with!" The half demon went to "nudge" Goku off the bed, but the boy would not let go. "You stupid monkey! Your going to get it infested with fleas!"
"Maa maa," Cho Hakkai interjected, trying to break up the two. "Lets relax for awhile and not argue…."
But Goku wouldn't listen. "I DON'T HAVE FLEAS!" he yelled back. "If you don't move, you're going to wet the bed, you perverted water sprite!"
"Me? A bedwetting problem?" He chuckled. "Well, I guess you could say that monkey, but the difference is that others want me to wet their bed."
Hakkai sighed something about "too much information" and shook his head in defeat.
At the window, Sanzo was quietly trying to enjoy a cigarette. He didn't know how they did it, but both Goku and Gojyo picked the most inopportune times to annoy him. Of course, these "most inopportune times" were almost all the time, and his patience grew thinner by the day. This trip was going to be the end of him…
"Maa maa, why don't you two jan ken po for it?" Hakkai suggested. The two men decided this would be a brilliant idea, and stood to face each other.
Sanzo watched with quiet amusement at his ward's determined face. Not that he cared where the monkey slept or how he got his bed, as long as he'd just shut up. Knowing Gojyo, though, Sanzo knew that he'd win their "sparring" match for the bed, and that soon the monkey would complain to him about the situation.
"Jan – ken – po!" they both shouted, throwing down their hands. Goku had thrown scissors, and Gojyo threw rock. It was the same every time. Didn't the monkey learn?
"Best two out of three!" the young man shouted. Hakkai cracked a smile towards the two as the same results came out again.
"This is bullshit!" Goku complained. "Best three out of five!"
"Goku, please keep it down, this inn is full right how," Hakkai struggled in the attempt to quiet them.
"Get off the bed, monkey," Gojyo said with a tone of mock superiority.
"I'm not a monkey! Sanzo-" the demon's complaint was cut short by sudden survival instincts as he tried to avoid the priest's paper fan.
"Oww!" He complained as he rubbed his head. "Sanzo…"
"Get out of his bed, you stupid monkey," he spoke shortly.
"But Sanzo…"
He could feel a vein throb in his forehead. They've been fighting all day… can't they give it a rest?
"You heard your master, monkey."
"Stop calling me that!"
His question was answered by Goku throwing a punch in Gojyo's direction in result of the kappa making faces at him.
"SHUT UP!" Sanzo roared, bringing immediate silence to the room. "Goku, you are going to get out of Gojyo's bed RIGHT NOW, sit your ass in your own bed and LIKE IT." They we're leaving early tomorrow, and the last thing he need were for the whole group to be sleep deprived. He shuddered at the thought. Two grumpy demons in the back seat could rival two small children in close proximity on a road trip. It wasn't as if Hakkai's constant smile helped matters much either…
Goku looked hesitant, but complied to his master's wishes and sat down on the vacant bed. Gojyo knew better than to gloat now, so resolved to lie back on the bed he won – smiling as he closed his eyes. Hakkai seemed glad to have a small sense of peace permeate in the room, even if it was forced.
Sanzo continued to look out the window as he ground the butt of his cigarette into the ashtray. Lighting up a new cylinder, the priest thought back to the dream he had the night before. It had been different than the one from two nights ago – this time they had been able to talk to each other…
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Please to not shoot me… the original version of chapter four was around 14 pages single spaced on Microsoft Word… and I hate having that much to scroll through when reading something on FF.net. As a result, I cut it in half… but don't worry; you'll be able to see it in the next chapter.
Comments and criticisms appreciated! Thanks for reading!
-Iapetus