HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
A/N – Ahh! 300 reviews! You guys are amazing!
Took me a little longer than I thought to update. If anyone is confused about what is going on, go ahead and ask questions in your review. Enjoy! Oh, and I haven't done chapter dedications in a while, so this chapter is dedicated to Brittany and Koniko-chan. Thank you both for your motivating reviews.
Disclaimer- Rumiko Takahashi owns 'em. I don't. Blah Blah
The Colors of Emotions
Chapter 34
Learn to Control
Naraku realized his mistake when the energy began burning him in the chest. Kagome had almost forgotten about her own miko abilities. She summoned it and the pure, blue power crackled at her fingertips and sizzled Naraku's flesh. It wasn't very controlled though, and the stream of energy disappeared as quickly as it came. But that didn't matter; Naraku was off of her, and now Kagome had the upper hand.
"Ya know, one of these days I just might kill you." Kagome smirked.
"You stupid whore." Naraku seethed from his hunched over position, clutching the wounded area.
"I think I give you too much credit. Even I didn't think you would forget that I was a miko." She taunted.
"I didn't forget." Naraku stated as he regained his dignity and stood up straight.
"What do ya mean? You completely ignored the fact that maybe I don't just rely on my new power."
"First, you cannot be this cocky as you have very little control over your precious little pure magic. It only comes when you are practically helpless." A cruel grin spread on the countenance of the corrupt man in front of her. "Second, I didn't think you could still possibly have pureness left in you. I had figured that your miko abilities had diminished. Anyone with spiritual awareness would have sensed it."
Kagome just stood there. Kaede had mentioned something like this before.
Flashback
"Ye do realize that your energy is part demon, do ye not?" Kaede continued, "Kagome, ye could be unintentionally corrupting the jewel."
End
Kaede must have thought that the weakening miko energy was from the jewel. But it was Kagome's own power all along. "The demon energy is destroying my miko powers? It isn't corrupting the jewel at all?" Kagome questioned timidly.
"That's right dear." Naraku smirked. "It really is a shame that that kotsonu got you when he did, you were so close to fully becoming a miko; all that training gone down the drain. You must have noticed the changes: you can't sense auras anymore can you? You haven't shot a purifying arrow in ages. Don't tell me you think this was all coincidence."
Kagome was slightly stunned at the fact that she could no longer be considered a miko. Doubt began to cloud her mind. She couldn't do this without her gift of being a miko.
But she fought the depression with a weapon of her own. Images of Miroku, Sango, and Shippou flew through her head. They would still love her even though she wasn't a miko. Then her mind settled on Inuyasha. Needless to say, her assurance that he would help her through anything brought a new wave of determination, and the doubt left her thoughts. Kagome took a deep breath and met Naraku's stare with a cold gaze.
"You won't break me Naraku."
And she snapped back into consciousness.
Naraku didn't look so confident anymore…
*
Inuyasha backed away quickly when Kagome's hands began to crackle with miko energy. The power subsided soon after though, and he immediately was back at her side, shaking her shoulders roughly and trying anything to wake her up. No one noticed that Miroku had a very confused expression on his face when he saw the miko power. The rest of the group had woken up at Kagome scream, and each was watching nervously from their designated spots. Inuyasha wouldn't let anyone go near Kagome.
"Inuyasha, maybe we should dump cold water on her or something." Shippou suggested from where he sat beside Kirara.
"It's not a bad idea." Miroku commented in a strained voice. No one really knew what was going on, only that Kagome had screamed and they had all woken at the sound. It was obvious that Naraku was in her mind, and Inuyasha was trying to wake her up. But what could they do if they couldn't get near them? It was still very dark, as they had only gone to bed about an hour or so before.
"You won't break me Naraku." Kagome whispered threateningly. The tone of voice surprised the monk, who hadn't realized Kagome could become that angry. Inuyasha turned his head to look at Miroku questioningly, as if to see if the monk knew if Kagome was making sense.
"Inuyasha, I think you should let her go." Sango nervously offered, as she had just seen Kagome's eyes snap open.
"Why?" Inuyasha asked, without turning his gaze from Miroku. However, the hanyou's hands were still roughly holding onto Kagome, and the young woman was not exactly in the best state of mind. Inuyasha learned that he really shouldn't question Sango's advice because at the next moment, Kagome's fist came flying into his jaw.
It didn't particularly hurt, of course, but Inuyasha was stunned at the least. His grip loosened on Kagome's shoulders, and he turned his gaze towards her now very awake face.
Kagome looked frantic, like a caged animal. But then her eyes met his and you could see the recognition set in. "Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled relieved, and she launched herself at the unsuspecting hanyou. He fell on his behind, but wrapped his arms around Kagome to return the embrace. Relief washed over him like a tidal wave. Those were some of the worst minutes of his life.
"Kagome, what happened?" He whispered into her ear.
Kagome was very aware that they had an audience, and decided that Inuyasha didn't need to hear every little detail of her problems. He helped her more than even he knew.
"It doesn't really matter does it? I'm awake now." Kagome nonchalantly answered, much to Inuyasha's annoyance.
"Of course it matters! You yell and scream in your sleep, you get scratched in the chest, and then you wake up and punch me in the face! Now spill!" Inuyasha shouted with anger clearly displayed on his face.
"I punched you in the face?" Kagome looked confused. Then realization dawned on her. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even realize that I was awake yet." She looked very sincere, but at the same time, Inuyasha could tell she was avoiding his demand.
"Kagome, you need to tell Inuyasha what happened." Sango calmly advised before Inuyasha could get anymore frustrated.
"Can't I tell you guys in the morning or something?" Kagome saw Inuyasha shake his head and sighed. She continued in a dull voice, not wanting to let her emotional turmoil show. "Well, I made Naraku angry. Next thing I knew he was on top of me. I thought he was going to rape me, but I stopped him, and then I woke up."
Sango went pale. "Kagome, that's awful. I am so sorry." The woman grabbed Kagome and pulled her into a tight hug. Kagome couldn't keep up her act anymore, and the tears began to flow freely from her eyes. Sango held her tightly as the younger girl continued to sob. This time Sango wouldn't let anyone near Kagome until she calmed down. Inuyasha couldn't stand watching Kagome cry and do nothing about it. He couldn't help her, not now and not in her mind.
"Kagome, how did you stop Naraku?" Miroku asked soothingly when Kagome began to calm down a little.
Kagome looked up slowly and set her gaze on Miroku. She took a deep breath and regained some of her composure. "I used my miko energy." Kagome watched Miroku's reaction to that statement, and it was exactly how she figured it would be. His face looked shocked, and she smiled at him. "You knew didn't you Miroku?" Kagome knowingly asked.
Miroku seemed even more surprised that she knew what he did, but nodded slowly.
"Naraku said anyone with spiritual awareness would have sensed it. I figured you must have known, but why didn't you tell me?" Kagome questioned.
"I didn't think you needed to know. You have never had great control over your miko powers Kagome, and if you had known what was happening, I thought you might have had too much to deal with all at once." Miroku smiled. "But you seem okay with this. I am proud of you."
Inuyasha, Sango, and Shippou were thoroughly confused. "What the hell are you two blabbering about?" Inuyasha growled.
Both Kagome and Miroku snapped out of their little one-on-one conversation, and Miroku decided he'd let Kagome answer this one.
"I'm not a miko anymore. I barely have any pure miko power left, and that's why Miroku was surprised when he heard that I used my miko energy against Naraku." Kagome explained.
"Kagome, you have been training for years, how are you so calm about this?" Sango asked.
"I admit, hearing it from Naraku wasn't exactly how I would have wanted to find out." Kagome sent a joking glare over at Miroku. "But I knew you guys wouldn't care whether I was a miko or not. I'd still be accepted, so I didn't let it get to me. I knew you'd all be there for me." Kagome smiled. "I know it's sappy, but it helped me gain confidence."
Shippou giggled and jumped up to give Kagome a hug. "I'll always accept you Kagome." Kagome smiled at his sweet innocence.
"Shippou speaks for all of us Kagome. Don't worry about your miko power. We'll always be here for you. Now, let's get some sleep." Sango prompted.
Kagome's smile faltered.
Inuyasha saw the flinch and waited sitting nearby while everyone settled around to get some sleep. Everyone was tired, and ten minutes later, his little group was off in dreamland. Well, everyone except Kagome.
The hanyou strolled over to her sleeping bag, scooped the surprised young woman, and leaped onto his perch in the tree above them. Kagome let out an indignant squeak of surprise, but calmed when she recognized her captor as Inuyasha.
He settled them on the wide branch, Kagome with her back resting against his chest, and his arms around her. "I'm not letting you avoid going to sleep." Inuyasha stated as soon as she had gotten comfortable.
"I don't want to go back to sleep okay." Kagome hissed. He was being all controlling again.
"You need to rest Kagome. We have a long day tomorrow." Inuyasha whispered in her ear. His hot breath against her skin sent shivers down her spine, and Inuyasha mistook her shiver as one that she was cold. He wrapped his arms tighter around her small form and reassured her, "I won't let you fall."
Kagome smiled. "You did last time."
"That doesn't count." He gruffly replied. "Naraku won't enter your mind again tonight."
"And how do you know that?" Kagome whispered back.
"I just do," was his cocky answer.
Kagome was indeed exhausted. The dried blood on the front of her shirt was uncomfortable, but the scratch had stopped bleeding, and she could just put disinfectant from her bag on it in the morning. Giving in to the warmth around her, Kagome fell asleep.
Naraku tried to enter her mind again that night, but it wasn't weak enough to break into. Inuyasha's presence surrounding Kagome kept her confident and safe. But because of this little setback in his plans, Naraku now saw the perfect way to break her.
*
As soon as the others began to stir the next morning, Inuyasha leaped from the tree and settled Kagome next to Shippou. She was awake and smiled at him as soon as he set her down. "Thank you." She whispered. Inuyasha smiled, he had been right about Naraku not visiting that night.
Inuyasha watched as Shippou's slumbering form immediately curled closer to Kagome's welcoming scent, and the hanyou couldn't help but be slightly envious. Pushing the emotion down, Inuyasha walked over to Miroku, who was still half asleep, and nudged the monk with his foot.
"Wake up monk. I've got a favor to ask ya." Miroku grumbled something, but dragged himself out of dreamland.
"What is it Inuyasha?" Miroku asked annoyed, but not showing it.
"I want you to teach Kagome to control what little miko power she has left. It protected her before, and I want her to be able to use it in case she's in a tough situation again." Inuyasha stated.
"How thoughtful of you." Miroku teased.
"Shut up. Will you do it?" Inuyasha asked.
"I was thinking about doing something along those lines anyway, so of course I will. We can start now while everyone is still waking up." Miroku offered.
"Kagome." Inuyasha called.
Kagome looked up questioningly from where she had been petting Shippou in her lap.
"Miroku's gonna start training you a little bit with that miko power of yours." Inuyasha stated.
"What's the point, there is probably no pure miko power left anyway. It's too corrupted by the demon energy." Kagome explained.
"There is still pureness left inside you Kagome. Inuyasha is right that you need to learn to control it." Miroku offered.
"But Kaede said I would probably never learn to control them fully. They only come when I really need them." Kagome looked thoughtful. "But I guess she's been wrong about things before. Who says she isn't wrong about this too?"
"Kagome, follow me. We need peace and quiet. Don't worry Inuyasha, we won't go far. We won't be long either. I'll just try to teach her to find what power is left." Miroku explained.
Inuyasha suddenly felt that strange insecurity again. He hadn't known that Miroku and Kagome would have to be alone when he asked the monk to do this. Kagome didn't seem to mind at all though, as she stood up and followed Miroku away from their little clearing and into the woods surrounding them.
"You better not follow them you know." Shippou advised from where he had been lying awake on Kagome sleeping bag.
"And how long have you been pretending to sleep?" Inuyasha asked annoyed.
"Long enough to see that you kept Kagome with you last night, and to hear you talking to Miroku. You're hogging her. Kagome sleeps next to me, not you." Shippou stuck his tongue out to further aggravate the flustered hanyou.
"Shut up." Inuyasha growled.
*
I guess that's all for now folks. I'll update as soon as I can.
Love ya lots,
vold