Readers--Here we are, chapter 12, (it's a little shorter than normal, but I'll make up for it next chapter!) Kagome's birthday….bum Bum BUM! This is where the fic will hit a fevered pitch! We are, officially, half-way through this story. Hold on to your hats, everyone, cuz things are about to get pretty interesting. I am using American Hi-Fi's song This is the Sound for this chapter. It is another of my favorites, but my absolute favorite song, Wall of Sound, will be used in a chapter a little ways off yet. I do so hope you enjoy this chapter! (For all those who have noticed, I'm so proud of myself! I stopped being lazy and started saving my documents in html format.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or American Hi-Fi, but I worship them both so, hurray for me!
Chapter 12: Destiny
"Empty hearts can fill an empty room, Because of you,
The sky above is clear and blue, it's nothing new"
Kaede and Sayaka had been waiting up in the kitchen, both too anxious to even think about sleep. The boys had fallen asleep over an hour ago, and had to be carried upstairs to bed. Everyone was worrying themselves sick.
When the backdoor opened, both Kaede and Sayaka rushed to their feet. Kagome waked in, head down, key ring still hanging on her finger. She wouldn't make eye contact with either woman as she attempted to get passed them and up the stairs.
"Kagome!" Sayaka yelled, blocking the teenager's escape. "What in the seven hells' is the matter with you?" The mother's dark eyes were bright with unshed tears as she glowered at her daughter. "You do not just go running off at all hours of the night!" Kagome remained silent, staring at something captivating on her boots.
Sayaka struck out, her hand whipping out before anyone could react and connecting with the side of Kagome's face with a loud slap. Kaede gasped, ready to pounce on either if a fight broke out, but Kagome made no move to fight back, or even defend herself. She kept her head still, her hair falling into her face and blocking the expression in her eyes.
"You will answer me!" Sayaka cried, raising her hand again. Kaede grabbed her wrist in a firm grip.
"Sayaka, if I were you, I would not try that again." Sayaka yanked her arm free and rounded on her daughter again.
"She will answer me. What were you thinking?" Still, Kagome didn't respond. "You insolent child!"
"Child?" Kagome spoke tentatively, almost in a whisper. "Child?" She looked up to glare at her mother, a lone tear trailing down her red-marked cheek. "I thought I was grown, Mother. I thought I could look after myself."
"Kagome-" Kaede began, stepping forward to meet the two opposing forces.
"No Grandma," Kagome said, holding out a hand to stop her grandmother's progression. Kagome shook her head sadly, looking away from her mother. "I am almost the High Miko and I will act accordingly. It is my duty to conduct myself as such." Kagome bowed before each woman, then made for the stairs once more.
"Just tell me where you went," Sayaka said in a small voice. Kagome turned slightly. Once more, her hair blocked her eyes from reading, but there was a little smile on her face.
"Keep thy friends close, but keep thine enemies closer." Then she left them with no further word.
"She was with Inuyasha," Kaede whispered, almost in awe. "I never thought that there would be a day dark enough to drive Kagome to look for help there."
"Inuyasha? One of the Inutoya boys?"
"The youngest," she confirmed. "It seems that Rei is once again proven right." Kaede paused to smile fondly and laugh a little. "That boy was never wrong."
"I won't allow it," Sayaka said, shaking her head. One of her hands flew to rub the back of her neck anxiously. "I forbid my daughter from consorting with such a creature as that! She was sent here to kill him, not date him!"
"I thought she was sent here to complete a task that she was asked to perform, not what she was ordered to obey." Kaede folded her arms and looked at Sayaka with a knowing and sorrowful expression. It was a sad thing indeed to see what her daughter had become. Sayaka swore and was ready to have a few choice words with her mother, but Kaede spoke again. "May I remind you, Sayaka my love, that your own husband was a hanyou." She was using that warning tone that her daughter knew all too well. "I would watch just who you call a creature, especially since you are breaking Rei's wishes to begin with."
"Rei was nothing like that boy," Sayaka insisted.
"Actually, I remember what Rei was as a boy. He was my student after all, same as that boy's father. They were both foul-mouthed and sorry-tempered." Kaede shook her head and walked over to the table. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe whatever did or did not happen between Rei and Tai should stay in the past? Why do you keep dragging Kagome into this crusade of yours? All she wants is a little bit of a normal life. If Inuyasha is part of that, let them be, Sayaka."
"I will not allow it," Sayaka repeated. But now she wasn't nearly as formidable as she had been before. Perspiration had broken out on her forehead and her face was white as a sheet. She swayed slightly where she stood, looking extremely ill as she clutched at her head.
"Sayaka," Kaede said, going to her daughter's side. "You look ill, are you well?" Sayaka stepped out of her mother's holding, taking hold of the banister near the stairs. Kaede sighed. "Why don't you go to bed and rest? Tomorrow is Kagome's birthday, and I don't want you two to be at odds. We'll jump off those bridges when we get to them."
Sayaka nodded and turned to go to her room. "You know as well as I do that Kagome hates her birthday more than any other day."
"Yes, but tomorrow is still an important day in her life."
"Tomorrow she will take my place," Sayaka said wearily, but there was something of a sinister light burning in her glassy eyes. "Tomorrow she will inherit the power of the Higurashi miko line." Sayaka turned and went slowly up the stairs, her robes trailing after her along the wooden steps.
Kaede watched her go, shaking her head sadly and cricking her back before sitting at the table. Things were changing in the family, and not for the better. She worried over her family's future, especially Kagome's. Kaede had always been very adept at seeing certain things to come. Rei also had a talent for future sight, but his gift had been much more advanced. That was one of the reasons she had taken him as one of her first pupils. But as good as Kaede was at seeing things, she just couldn't see through the mist that surrounded Kagome. Her future was truly a mystery. The only one who had ever known anything that was to come for that girl had been Rei, but his secrets had died with him.
Kaede poured herself some fresh herbal tea with a sigh. She held the cup aloft and smiled. "A toast to you Rei," she said to the empty kitchen. "Let's hope that whatever you saw was good, and that you can protect her from what is to come." Kaede swore she could almost hear him answer.
"Yes mistress."
"The radio keeps playing static of favorite songs,
Why does everyone keep bringing me back to you?"
When Kagome wasn't in school on the 17th, Inuyasha became a little worried. He had hoped to talk to her about last night. She had seemed so much better after she left his house, but still, he had no idea what passed between her and her mother when she got home. The others sensed his unease during the course of the day, but they didn't know what to do to lessen his tension.
Rin suspected that it had to do with Kagome. Since her cousin's arrival to the group, things had begun changing for the better in all of them. Their victory at the Nationals gained the martial arts team the respect they deserved and made life much more bearable at school. Inuyasha and Miroku were 'officially' able to hang out with her and Sango, which began to work wonders between the growing light romance between Sango and Miroku. Since Kagome threatened to beat him up if he kept touching girls, Miroku's levels of lechery had remained limited to only Sango. Sango had also begun to be more at ease around him.
Rin had also marveled in the changes coming over Inuyasha. He didn't seem to be as angry at the world as he had once been. He wasn't feeling like he got the short end of the stick. When Kagome was around, she got him to laugh, blush, and yell more in one afternoon then the team could in an entire week. But, Rin thought with affection, Kagome was just like that. She had a calming presence that made everyone feel better just by talking to her. She was good for them. Rin just hoped that they were as good for her.
"Earth to Rin, are you still with us?" Sango said, waving a hand in front of the girl's face.
"Oh, sorry," Rin said with a grin.
"You spaced out on us," Miroku laughed. The four of them were in lunch, sitting at the far table, like always.
"Yeah, I was thinking about Kagome."
"You think she's okay?" Inuyasha asked from his seat. It surprised them when he spoke, he'd mostly bee silent all day.
"I guess, why wouldn't she be?"
He shrugged. "She's not in school."
"Well it is her birthday," Sango said with all reason. "Maybe she took off to hang with her family or something."
"Yeah," he said without tone. "That's probably it."
"'Yash, is there something you aren't telling us?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha had the good grace to look embarrassed, a light red tint staining his cheeks as he looked away from his friends.
"She…kinda came to my house last night." For a few minutes, there were no words from the others, then they all broke out speaking at the same moment."
"She did what?" they all chorused. Inuyasha flinched, nearly falling from his chair.
"Hey, it's not like I expected her to come or anything. I was trying to play Final Fantasy 8 when all of a sudden, she was just there." He straightened himself defensively. It wasn't like he had anything to hide. Well, then again, maybe he didn't want them to know everything that had happened last night. Rin looked at him pensively while Sango and Miroku openly stared and made comments and questions.
"She had a fight with her mother, didn't she?" Rin asked at last.
"Yeah," Inuyasha said slowly, looking at his friend. "She was really upset. She was even crying."
"She was crying?" Rin asked, eyes wide and shocked. "But Kagome doesn't cry!"
"Everybody cries Rin," Miroku said in confusion. "I know you seem to idolize Kagome as this picture of feminine strength but--"
"No, you pompous pervert," Rin snapped. "I don't mean it like that. Kagome hasn't cried since she was eight years old. That is a fact."
"You mean she really hasn't cried in ten years?" Inuyasha said in surprise. "I didn't think she was serious."
"She was serious all right." Rin just shook her head and scowled. "Kaede is right," was all she said before rising to her feet. "I'm taking off. Could you guys cover for me?"
"Sure," Sango said with a questioning glance. "Where are you going?"
"I need a few words with my aunt."
"Rin?" Inuyasha called after her. Rin looked back, a determined set to her face that made her suddenly look strikingly like Kagome. "Could you call me later? Just to let me know that everything's ok."
Rin smiled slightly. "Of course." Then she left the cafeteria and most probably the school in general. Rin was on a mission now, bound for the Isharugi Dojo.
"Pardon me," someone spoke. Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha turned to see Kouga leaning against their lunch table. Inuyasha scowled at his former competition. Since his loss at the Nationals, there had been bad blood between Kouga and Inuyasha. He was intruding on their territory, and from the look on his face, Kouga knew it as well.
"What do you want, wimp?" Inuyasha spat, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Not that it is any business of yours, mutt-face," Kouga said cheerily. "But I was looking for Kagome."
"She's not in school today," Sango said with a slight frown.
"Really?" Kouga asked, looking crestfallen. "Shit. She mentioned that today was her birthday, I wanted to give her something."
"I doubt she'd want whatever you have to give," Inuyasha scoffed.
Kouga raised an eyebrow at him in distaste. "And what makes you think that your opinion matters?"
"The fact that I know Kagome better then you do," Inuyasha responded calmly, turning back in his seat in a dismissing gesture to Kouga. This only proved to offend the wolf demon to the point of provoking.
"Oh, I see," Kouga said with a sigh. "Unrequited love, am I right?"
Inuyasha bristled, two seconds from turning and jamming the plastic spork in his hands right down Kouga's throat. Miroku rested a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think it's wise for you to be here Kouga," he said with a shake of his head.
"All I wanted to know was where Kagome was," Kouga said innocently.
"She's not here, so go away," Inuyasha hissed between clenched teeth.
"I'll go when I'm good and fucking ready," Kouga snapped. Geez, some people have no manner at all!" Kouga sounded appalled and that only seemed to enrage Inuyasha more. The wolf demon gave no notice to the hanyou. "Will you be seeing her today?"
Sango and Miroku shook their heads. Inuyasha didn't trust himself to answer. "She might be in school tomorrow," Sango offered. "But we're really not sure. Her birthday is a big thing in her family."
"Oh," Kouga sighed, feeling let down. He scratched his forehead, just under the brim of her headband. "I'm leaving for the week after school, and I was hoping that you, being her friends and all, might give it to her for me?"
Inuyasha dropped his head on to the lunch table with a dull thud. Everyone ignored him. Sango go up. "I would be more than happy to give it to her for you," she said politely.
Kouga grinned. "Thanks a lot. Please be sure to tell her that it's from me." He reached into his backpack and fished around for a minute, then triumphantly retrieved a small package wrapped in silver paper. He handed it to Sango like it was a precious treasure.
"Don't worry, I'll tell her," Sango reassured him.
Inuyasha snickered to himself. "Yeah, who else could it be from? It's probably tacky and dumb, something Kagome would hate but say she likes so as not to hurt your feelings."
Kouga growled. "No one asked your opinion, mutt-face, so keep your mouth shut."
Inuyasha couldn't explain it. If someone would have told him at the beginning of this year that he would get so irked by this one moron, he would have laughed in that person's face and called them retarded. He had always been, more or less, a passive aggressive person. Never one to start fights because he'd always finish them. And yet, here was this guy. A relatively popular, semi-attractive, medium wealthy guy that was vying for the attentions of the same girl who had invaded his house in the middle of the night, sopping wet and crying her eyes out. The self-same girl he had spent an hour comforting in the only way he knew how.
He was a simple person, really. His feelings came hard to him, and he never really found words to express them. Actions were always how he expressed himself. Most often, this was shown through fights, which was why he was sent to the Isharugi dojo by his mother in the first place. As he got older, he learned to control himself more, but no one was perfect. Sesshomaru was the stoic one; Inuyasha was the passionate of the pair.
Here he was, in a position where it would have been easy to just tell Kouga to fuck off and be done with it, but it didn't happen like that. One minute, Inuyasha was sitting there, watching Sango take the present meant for Kagome, and the next moment he was slamming Kouga into the lunch table with all the strength he had.
"Inuyasha, what the fuck are you doing?!" Miroku yelled, trying to pull the hanyou from the wolf demon in his clutches, but it was too late. Kouga pushed back and freed himself, turning on Inuyasha and punching him in the stomach. Two of Kouga's friends had seen the beginnings of the brawl and raced over to help, both of them attacking Miroku from behind.
Of course Sango wouldn't take this sitting down. She leapt to Miroku's defense, taking on one of the offending wolves. The demon was extremely upset by the turn of events, however. Boys learn very early on not to hit girls, and only a few are gentlemen enough to abide that rule when a girl is kicking his ass.
Miroku had thrown off his offender, trying to reason with him to stop the fight before they all get caught. The wolf would have none of it and attacked Miroku again. There was only one option left--take him on or get laid out. Miroku was one of those men who'd never say die. Therefore, for the sake of his honor, he would throw a smack-down on this wolf.
Kouga and Inuyasha scrappled like cats and dogs. Kouga was faster than Inuyasha, and without a weapon, he had to stand his ground. But just because he had no weapon, Inuyasha was by no means helpless. Kouga went in for an assault, and Inuyasha was ready to land him a good one, when administration finally intervened.
"Well, well, well," a snippy voice said. "Mister Inuytoya, fighting again are we?"
And that is the story of how Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku all got after school detention on that faithful afternoon.
"And this is the sound, of the broken down,
And this is the last train home, the home beyond your ground"
The pain was so horrible, she could barely open her eyes. Her skin was on fire and her temples throbbed. Every part of her ached and perspired. Kagome had never known such pain before, not in all the times she had ever transformed, not in any of the battles in which she had fought. Not all of them combined could surmount the pain that coursed in her veins. The pain was from pure power. The raw power of a thousand different generations over immeasurable time. Thus was her last task to complete before the ascension at midnight.
Souta and Shippou had come into her room early, waking her up by jumping on her bed. Kagome had swallowed the pain as best she could, putting on a brave face for their sakes. They awarded her with two hand-drawn birthday cards that she marveled over. In the course of only a few minutes, she had spent all of her energy.
Kaede had saved her by taking the boys from her room, saying that Kagome needed rest. Kaede knew the pain of the ascension well, and she knew it would be worse for Kagome. The demon in her was rejecting the miko blood, it was trying like hell to prevent her ascending. A war raged within the girl, a war that no one knew the outcome of.
So in bed was where Kagome remained all day, tossing and turning. She called out in feverish dreams, and cried herself from nightmares. There were moments when she was burning hot and couldn't stand the touch of anything to her skin. There were moments when she was so cold that all the blankets in the dojo could not keep her warm. For hours this went on. That was how Rin found her.
"Kagome," her cousin said quietly, sitting on her bedside. Rin reached out and smoothed back the hair from her forehead. In a second, she snatched her hand back. Kagome's skin was burning to the touch.
"You don't need to worry," someone said from behind her. Rin whirled and saw Sayaka leaning against the wall near the doorway. She had a look of casual acceptance on her face, a mug of tea in her hands. "This is all part of her transition."
"Aunt Sayaka," Rin said without heat or malice. There was no point being angry, the woman was almost beyond all feeling. Rin simply bowed the best she could in a sitting position, then turned back to her cousin. "When will she could out of these dreams?" For indeed, Kagome was in and out of consciousness much of the afternoon, not really knowing the difference between her dreams and what went on around her.
"When the sun sets, and it grows closer to midnight. The power will recede for the most part, then it will return for the ceremony."
"May I speak candid with you, aunt?" Rin asked, her eyes not leaving Kagome.
"If you wish, Rin," Sayaka replied, sipping her tea and sighing slightly.
"What is Kagome to you?"
Sayaka lowered the mug from her lips and looked at Rin's back, a frown creasing her face. "I am not sure what you mean."
"Is Kagome your daughter? Or simply your heir? Clearly she means little but the next one to carry a burden is you can so easily cast her aside."
"You should be careful how you speak, Rin my dear," Sayaka said in a light but warning tone. "One might think that you intend to insult."
Rin whirled again, ready to curse Sayaka. Oaths rolled up on her tongue, but the older woman had already turned to leave. Rin caught a glimpse of something silver flash on her aunt's neck as the woman departed, but it was only a flash. And then she was gone. Rin turned back to Kagome, taking her cousin's hand. Her skin was cooler now, and a tear rolled from the corner of her eye.
"I wish I knew what you were seeing," Rin whispered. "Than you wouldn't have to be alone. You wouldn't have to cry."
"Papa," Kagome said brokenly. "Don't……go…"
Silent tears rolled from Rin's eyes, a memorial to her lost uncle and sympathy to her beloved cousin. A birthday is a day that is supposed to be happy and special. A day to remember with jokes and cakes and fun, not pain. It was a day that you would look back on fondly, not a day to look back on in tears and with regret. For Kagome, her birthday was the most hated day of the year, a day that would always remind her of what was lost, and how many years grew between her and the memories that meant everything to her.
"And this is the fall, Don't catch me when I fall,
Just catch me when I fall, Back to the ground"
"This sucks," Inuyasha grumbled for the eighteenth time in the last ten minutes. He sat at the front desk, right near the teacher. His head was resting on his hand in a lazy way, his free hand tracing the design drawn into the desk face. The teacher who sat at the front desk had his feet resting on the top and was reading the newest issue of Shonen Jump.
"Well, you should have thought about that before you started fighting," the teacher muttered, turning to the next page.
"The guy was bugging me," Inuyasha growled. "I'd do it again too."
"Then you'd still be here, wouldn't you?" The teacher never looked up from the pages. Inuyasha only sighed and let his head fall forward on to the desk. He looked to the clock, but saw there was still another half hour in his punishment. Then he could go home, and wait by his phone. Then he could go home and wait for Rin to call about Kagome. He couldn't explain why he was so worried. He just had a bad feeling, and a demon--even half of one--knew to trust his feelings.
Sango and Miroku sat in the back of the classroom. They had invited Inuyasha to sit with them, but he turned them down to sit closer to the door, unwittingly take the seat closest to the teacher as well. Kouga and his two friends had detention in another room, therefore no more fights could break out.
"So," Miroku said to Sango. "What do you think is in the box?"
"What?" Sango asked in bewilderment.
"What do you think Kouga got Kagome for her birthday?" Miroku said with a hint of a smile. "Has to be something good since 'Yash went postal over it."
Sango reached into her bag and pulled out the box. Then she shook it next to her ear. There was the slightest hint of a rustling sound. She smiled contently. "It's jewelry," Sango explained confidently.
"How do you know?"
"A girl always knows," she said with a smile.
Miroku smiled and shook his head. "Your gender will never cease to amaze me."
Sango nodded. "Women can always surprise men. It's just a fact of life."
"And you'll never cease to amaze me either," he added with a flirtatious smile. Sango shook her head now, blushing lightly and rolling her eyes.
"You're shameless, flirting in detention!"
"Where else would you like me to?" he said defensively. "Between beatings, or maybe when you sleep so you'll have nothing blunt to strike me with."
Sango frowned. "If you talked with your mouth instead of your hands, then there would be no need for me to hit you with anything, now would there?"
"I can't help it," Miroku whined. "You're just so grope-able."
Sango blinked at him. "Should I be offended, or is that supposed to be a compliment?"
Miroku thought it over for a minute, looking like he was really thinking it over. "That's a compliment," he said at last. Sango opted to change the subject when Inuyasha announced, for the thirty-second time, that this sucked.
"What do you think it going on between him and Kagome?" she asked.
"I think he's starting to realize that he's smitten," Miroku explained with a smile. "Poor Inuyasha, he never really did know when to be happy or sad. He spent so much time trying to stay impassive like his brother so his father would be proud of him, he never really understood that he wasn't supposed to be that way."
"You think he knows now?" Sango asked.
"I think he's learning," Miroku conceded with a smile at her. "Since Kagome's grand entrance, he's been falling all over himself trying to impress her."
Sango laughed. "That's certainly true. And Kagome needs a passionate guy, so it only makes sense that he try to be that way."
Miroku nodded. "Exactly my point. Our dear 'Yash is finally growing up."
Suddenly, a paper airplane flew in between the pair of them, making them jump. Neither realized that they had been steadily leaning closer to one another amidst their conversation. Sango jerked back, blushing. Miroku looked to the source of the paper and saw Inuyasha scowling at him.
"You are aware I can hear you, right?" the hanyou yelled at them.
'Damn ears!' Miroku thought to himself with a sigh. If Inuyasha hadn't interfered, he might have had the opportunity to kiss Sango when she wouldn't be allowed to hit him for it. Oh well, Miroku was certain he'd get another chance. In fact, a plan came to mind.
"Sango," he said in a questioning tone. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You plan on coming to my Christmas party next week, correct?"
"Uh-huh," she said with a nod. "Why?"
"Would you consider coming early? Helping me decorate?" Sango blinked, then shrugged.
"Sure. I don't have anywhere else to be." Miroku smiled triumphantly.
"Thanks, I'm glad you'll be my date."
"Date? What the--"
"Okay you three, time to go," the teacher announced, closing his comic book. "I've got Christmas shopping to do. Let this be a lesson, fighting is bad."
Inuyasha was the first to dash from the room, skidding in the hallway so his sneakers squeaked loudly, then running for the parking lot. Miroku was on his heels. Sango was left standing in the hall, yelling after Miroku with some colorful language. "Why am I always so gullible?" she asked herself as she made for her Dad's car.
"Lightning crashes all around me now, I hear it's sound,
Broken wings can carry us to where people stare"
Kagome opened her eyes slowly, not trusting is this was another dream or not. The fire in her blood had receded, the pain was now a dull throb and an achy sensation running through her body. Rin's face swam in her eyes, just to the right of her. Kagome had to squint to bring her into focus.
"Rin?" she asked, doubting the vision.
"I'm here," said the familiar voice, and a squeeze on her hand.
"I'm not dreaming anymore?"
"No, you're awake," Rin assured her. "It's almost eleven at night."
"I've been asleep that long?" Kagome asked with displeasure. "It felt like I'd only been asleep a few hours."
"You've been in and out all day," Rin explained, standing up and arching her kinked back. "Kaede came in a few minutes ago. She put the boys to bed and said that you'd be away soon. She also brought you these clothes to change into, for the ceremony. Sayaka has been preparing the weapon's room all afternoon, when she wasn't watching you."
Kagome nodded, running the back of her hand over her eyes groggily. Things came back into focus slowly, but steadily. After a few minutes, she sat up and noticed a pile of clothes at the foot of her bed. The clock next to her read 11:07. It didn't give her all that much time to prepare.
"I'll go down and tell them you're up," Rin said with a smile. "You should take a shower and get dressed. I'll be back in a little bit to help you with anything."
"Rin?" Kagome called as she made to leave. "Thank you." Rin smiled threaded her fingers in front of her in an embarrassed way.
"It's nothing Kag, just want to make sure that you're okay."
"I will be," Kagome said quietly as Rin left. "I will be."
Rin stopped on the second floor, slipping into one of the closed practice rooms and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Inuyasha's number and waited as it connected. On the second ring, he picked up. "Rin?"
"It's me," she said.
"And?" he prompted. It sounded like he really had been waiting for the call all day.
"She'll be fine. The ceremony is in about an hour. After that, she'll need plenty of rest, so Kaede says. The real test is still to come, but everyone seems confident enough."
"But no one knows for sure, do they?" he asked quietly, almost hesitantly. Like he dreaded the answer.
"No, they don't know for sure." There was silence for a moment and she heard him sigh in a worried, flighty way.
"Call me when the ceremony is over, ok? Please?"
"I will," she promised, then hung up and went to tell the women of Kagome's awakening.
"Fall asleep against the window pane,
Outside the rain covers everyone, Now we're never gonna see the sun"
Meanwhile, Kagome struggled out of bed and to the bathroom. Her stomach growled a little, but she didn't want anything in her stomach should the pain regroup on her. It would be a very messy scene to throw up during her own ceremony. The hot water on her skin relaxed taunt muscles and made her feel better than before.
When Kagome got back to her room, she changed into the clothes Kaede had given her. They were a traditional ascension garments, all the cloth was black with gold trim, but they made Kagome feel far older and much less worthy of the title she would receive that night. There was a short covering that went over her upper body, the sleeves reached to the elbow where they flared in wide cuffs that feel to her knees. The shirt itself only reached halfway down her midriff, leaving much skin open between her chest and hips. There was a long skirt that had two large slits on either side that reached all the way to the waistband. She was not permitted to wear anything on her feet or her hands.
The outfit made her feel very cold, making her wish, not for the first time, that she had been born in July rather than December. But one can not change the date they were born, so she would just have to endure. Rin returned just as she was brushing her hair.
"You look nice," Rin said with a rueful smile. "Though you must be freezing."
"Mind over body," Kagome said, trying not to let her teeth chatter. "I'll just have to bare it until the ceremony is over. Then I will change into the warmest clothes I can find."
Rin smiled. "Want some help with your hair?"
"That would be appreciated. I only have ten more minutes before I have to go down."
Rin sat behind Kagome on the bed, brushing out her hair. "What do you want me to do with it?"
"Something simple, yet elegant," Kagome said with a laugh. "Grams gave me a barrette that I'm supposed to wear along with the clothes, so just pull it into a knot and I'll clip it on."
Rin ran the brush for the last few strokes and pulled Kagome's hair up and then pulled it through, into the knot. "Barrette," she commanded. Kagome clicked her tongue and handed it over. Rin added the finishing touch. "There, now you're ready to become the High Miko."
Kagome turned and looked at her cousin. There was faith in Rin's eyes, a belief that Kagome could do what she was born to do. Kaede believed in her, Rin believed in her, and she knew that Souta and Shippou believed in her. What did she care if Sayaka thought she was worth anything or not? What did Sayaka's opinion matter? Kagome sighed, she knew that it mattered a great deal to her, what her mother thought. But this was the point in her life where Kagome had to stop thinking about pleasing her mother, and start thinking about what was best for everyone who would now depend on her. With all the courage she could muster, Kagome left her bedroom and went to the weapons room on the first floor of the dojo.
"Kagome," Kaede said when she saw her enter the kitchen, a small smile lighting her face. "You look lovely."
"Thank you Grams," Kagome replied with a wane smile of her own. "There isn't much time left, is there?"
"No," Kaede agreed. "You should go in, your mother is waiting."
"Aren't you coming?"
"Rin and I can observe, but the ceremony is only between you and her." Kagome nodded and pulled open the door to the room.
The weapons room had been transformed. Candles littered the floor, in holders of various shapes and sizes, throwing the room a soft, warm glow. The light flittered over her mother's form, as she stood erect in the center of the room. Sayaka had made a circle in the center with a spread of flowers. A pathway of petals led Kagome through the maze of candles. Incense burned in holders, sending up tiny puffs of smoke. Kagome inhaled the rich scents of sandalwood and rosemary.
When she reached her mother's side, Sayaka helped Kagome take a seat in the center of the circle, lighting a small white candle to hold in her hands later on. Kagome sat Indian style, hands resting lightly on her legs. Sayaka kneeled before her, the hem of her white robes brushing against Kagome's bare arms and exposed leg. The once High Miko picked up a small dish of lavender oil mixed with other herbal mixtures, it created an almost black paint that Sayaka dipped a small brush into and began drawing symbols on to Kagome's skin. As she painted, she spoke.
"On each wrist is placed the symbol for peace and prosperity, so that you may rule our family in good times." The brush moved deftly over her skin. "On each foot goes the symbol of surefooted luck, so that your steps never falter on the path you take. The throat is marked with the symbol for life so that this blood never spills." Sayaka diligently painted the symbols on to her daughter's skin, careful not to make any mistakes or else the symbols might read something different.
"On the forehead, the symbol for wisdom, so that all the decisions made for our family are made with good conscious and without doubt. On the left cheek, the symbol for family and on the right, the symbol for love. May the family live under the same bond of love and devotion that has kept us so long, and that luck is found for when you begin the next generation."
Sayaka then bade Kagome to close her eyes, and the brush made tiny, intricate symbols over her closed eyelids. "The symbol for foresight, so that you may never be blind to what happens to our family, and that you may see clearly is a decision is needed. Thus so ends the gifts of the past." Sayaka placed the paint and brush to the side, and returned to her feet. Kagome remained on the floor, her hands resting on her knees.
Sayaka took up the white candle that she had lit before. "Rise, Kagome Yue Higurashi," Sayaka spoke in a serene and calm voice. Kagome obeyed without hesitation. "I pass to you, the light of my reign. May yours burn brighter and truer then mine. May it be a light for you in dark places. May it guide you on the path you must take in your lifetime." Kagome reached out her two hands and received the candle, cradling it in her palms.
"I accept the light of my mother's reign," Kagome spoke in long rehearsed words. "I with guard it, I will harbor it. I will look to the light when I need guidance and listen for the council it may offer. When the time comes, my light will be passed to my own daughter. As it has been, and how it will be, until the light is no longer needed in this world."
As she spoke, the color of the candle's wax slowly began to change from the pure white color, the same as Sayaka's robes, to the rich black color of Kagome's. Once the candle was completely turned, a wind began to blow inside the dojo itself. The candles flickered and slowly died, one by one, until the only light remaining was the one in Kagome's hands. Rin gasped from her view in the doorway. Kaede remained silent, intent on watching the events passing between Kagome and Sayaka.
The flower petals that had been strewn across the ground we caught up in the miniature whirlwind, blowing in a dome-like shape encircling only Kagome as Sayaka stepped back and away. The candle in Kagome's hands never flickered, never dimmed. The symbols that had been drawn into her skin faded, absorbed into Kagome herself as her body began to shimmer with a light green glow. Kagome closed her eyes, feeling the power wash over her. The mikos of the past, the present, and the future were testing her. They were seeing if one such as she was worthy of being the leader of the line. Kagome allowed them to see her, no shields, no restraints.
The glow grew brighter, so bright that Rin, Kaede, and Sayaka all had to shield their eyes. Never had a test been so bright before. Kaede grew nervous when she couldn't see what was happening to Kagome through the haze of the dome. She would have moved forward had Sayaka not stopped her.
"It's not complete yet! If you interfere, Kagome will be killed!"
"What if she already is?" Kaede yelled back, the howling winds filling their ears.
"Then at least we wouldn't be the cause of it. It was deemed so by the powers we live by."
"What's happening!?" Rin shrieked, pointing at the dome. Kaede and Sayaka turned to see Kagome, she stood in the very center of the orb surrounding her, the glow fading. The petals circled her once, and when they left, Kagome stood in her hanyou form. Her hair billowed out behind her, bone white, eyes glowing a dark green. Her cat-like ears stood tall on her head and her clawed fingers clutched at the precious candle. A chorus of voices whispered in the wind and Kagome's ears along could hear the melodic female voices.
"Bid farewell to this form," they sang to her. "What you will be, you can never change. Where you are going, there is no going back. Do you accept?"
"I accept!" Kagome yelled into the winds. The petals circled her once more and when they cleared for the second time, Kagome stood in her human form once more. Tears fell from her wide eyes, grieving for the loss of what was both her gift and her curse.
"Your path is set," whispered a voice, curling around her shoulders.
"Your path is long," whispered another, weaving between her legs.
"Your path is hard," a third voice hissed as it brushed past her hip.
"Do you accept your path?" the three sang together.
"I accept," Kagome replied as confidently as she felt. Pain began to grow in her body again as the power started flooding back. Each voice faded into Kagome herself, each voice another miko from long ago. Each bringing a taste of long-lost power. They faded until there was only once voice left.
"You have been warned, daughter Kagome," the voice said in a low, female voice. "Yet you accept what will be a great burden."
"I accept," Kagome said, her voice barely a whisper.
"Things are in motion that can not be undone. You can not change the past," the voice said, reading something from deep within Kagome's wounded soul. "But you can change the future. Remember this always, Kagome, daughter of the Higurashi family. All you have to do, is believe." And then the final voice faded away into Kagome and her power was whole. The winds died, the petals fell, but the black candle in her hands remained burning bright.
Kagome faltered and fell to her knees, panting hard. The pain was in her chest, spreading through her limps. It was warm, not burning, but warm and now it felt familiar. The chorus of voices sang in her sing, echoing to her very bones until all pain was reduced to nothingness and Kagome was now the High Miko.
Sayaka went to her, two weapons clutched in her hands. She went to Kagome side and offered her first the bow. It was wood, hand carved, and strung to Kagome's with. The new High Miko rose to her feet, the black candle placed safely on a holder where it burned between Sayaka and Kagome. She took the bow from her mother's hands and held it at her side, the soft green glow of her body softly covering the weapon. The other offered gift was a sword. It was not Tetsusaiga, which Kagome was yet to retrieve from Inuyasha, but another sword that was broad, and longer. Kagome grasped the hilt and held it aloft. With sword in one hand, and bow in the other, Kagome was almost complete.
It was Kaede's turned to move forward now. In her hands was held a small jeweled chain. When she reached Kagome, the High Miko lowered her head and Kaede placed the chain upon it. When she looked up, a green jewel shone from a silver pendant across her forehead. Thus Kagome Higurashi ascended. She passed the coronation to become the High Miko until death take her, or her own daughter ascended in her stead.
Rin watched from the background, her throat tight and blinking back tears. She was a mixture of happiness and sadness. This was the moment that Kagome had been raised her entire life for, it was her destiny to help people. But it was an injustice that the only person she couldn't save was herself. Now that she was High Miko, there was no chance of a rescue coming from the family. Now, all of Rin's hopes for her cousin rested on the unwitting shoulders of one unlikely anti-hero named Inuyasha Inutoya.
"If you wanted to stay, I'll have you any day,
And if you wanted to stay, I'll have you anyway,
And this is the sound, this is the sound"
The phone was ringing again. His brain registered it slowly since he had been on the brink of sleep for nearly a half an hour. But then his arm shot out and he grabbed it. Inuyasha put the phone to his ear. "Rin?"
"Yeah, it's me," came her tired, strained voice.
"What happened?" he asked, now wide awake.
"The ceremony went perfectly, just as Kaede said it would." A heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders then, one he hadn't even been sure he was holding. Kagome was ok. Kagome was going to be ok. It brought a smile to his face.
"Tell me what happened?" he begged.
"Her mother performed it," Rin explained. "A candle was passed and Kagome accepted the responsibility, and the power, of her entire family."
"Sounds like a heavy load," Inuyasha commented.
"It will be," Rin said quietly. "It will be."
"But we'll be here to help her." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He heard Rin's intake of breath and knew the coming question. "I have to go, Rin. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he hung up fast.
He had said we! Why did he say that? Did he really expect Kagome to stick around? Now that she was High Miko, all she had to do was finish this task her mother had for her, then she's go home and he would likely never see her again. Unless she came to visit Kaede or Rin again, but it wasn't likely she'd want to see him. He was an idiot to think that a kiss could change anything, especially someone with a spirit like Kagome. She had her own mind, and she would settle for no one. Least of all someone like him. That brought him down again.
"No sense getting your hopes up over something that can never be yours." That had been his motto when he was a child. It was funny that a rich kid would feel deprived. Materially he had wanted for nothing, but emotionally was an entirely different level. He missed his father. Tai Inutoya was a demon who always knew what to do. Inuyasha needed some words of wisdom right about now.
What does one do when they find themselves falling? Especially falling for a girl like Kagome.
"And this is the fall, Don't catch me if I fall,
Just catch me when I fall,
Don't catch me when I fall."
Heh, at least he doesn't know she was supposed to kill him…yet. Muhaha, yep, I know I'm evil. Chapter 13 is coming, have no fear. Beware my friends, for there will be singing, oh yes, there will be singing! Time for reviewer response!
Nightstar Angel: Yes, I made them have their first kiss. I dunno, it seemed kinda rushed to me. Maybe I should've held off on the romantic stuff for a couple chapters. Oh well, too late now. This chapter had no romance at all, sadly, but next chapter will so never fear! I'm glad you understand now, if you ever have any questions, just ask and I'll answer.
SarahlovesDBZ: Really? This was the best chapter? I thought so too, lol. I'm glad I got all positive responses for this chapter. I really thought it was too soon for them to get together, but then again, if I didn't do it soon, I knew everyone would hate me. Don't think the story ends here, oh no. Kagome may be the High Miko, but life for her will only get more difficult, not easier. I love this story!
pruningshears: My old friend! Yes, I too know people like that. When I was writing this chapter, I was thinking of them. Hey, it's an angst, I have to make the feelings correspond well or I wouldn't be doing my job as a writer. Her mother-issues are very complex, but all will be revealed in due course. Yes, all respect Kouga! Everyone has to admit that it takes a REAL man to wear a mini skirt, and pull it off so well!
Blackdragonrider: I'm glad you liked the chapter, lol. I wanted it to be sad and dramatic and romantic. I'm glad you liked it, hehe.
moonlight-angel2003: Ack, I was sick over Christmas so I feel your pain. But at least I got a lot of writing done, right? I'm happy that you liked the chapter. Here is the update you wanted!
Sakura: I'm so happy you like it! I think I should change the category or the bio or something. It seems that everyone who reads this story likes it, but it might just be one of those cult underground stories that only a few people know and enjoy. So be it, as long as I have a few people who like it! *glows happily*
Mirokus-grl: I think you should calm it down a notch, lol. Yes well, I'm making Sayaka's character pretty unbearable for a reason. Read on and you will see!
Well that's all the reviews for last chapter, as for this one, I want more! Come on people! Review! You know you want to, I'll give you something shiny if you do! Yeah, bribery! *snickers evilly*
--Jesse the Wolf Demon