Open Your Eyes: Section Four – Unseen Bonds
Kagome mulled over this fact, when she found herself tossed down again – to land on the hardwood of her inner home. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. From her brief, if eventful, contact with the charity case that was Inuyasha, Kagome had come to the understanding that compromise consisted of Inuyasha unconscious.
"Sixty seconds," Inuyasha stated flatly.
He can't be serious, Kagome thought. She didn't move, staring up at this stranger to her home, lips parted slightly in shock.
"What? Change your mind?" He took a step toward her. His patience, if such a thing existed, was ending.
Kagome forced herself to stand slowly, with dignity. She'd be damned if her hellish house guest would be able to dictate anything more than he already was.
What was the chance that she could lose him in the process of cemetery hopping?
The thought made her decide to speed up.
Pants.
Boots.
Trench coat.
...Sunglasses?
Kagome did not have time to ponder her chosen outfit. Frankly, she did not want to be recognized by anyone, though why in particular she believed trench coats and sunglasses would save her from recognition she didn't know.
Stopping in the kitchen, Kagome tried to remember where the aspirin was secreted away, rubbing her forehead as if to rid herself of the pain through her fingers. Hell, the idea wasn't half bad, but it was wholly unorthodox. Even as she popped the cap off of the pain relieving medication's bottle, Kagome attempted to magically learn the art of natural mental healing.
In return, all she got was a continuous pounding in her head, a reminder of shallow chest wounds inflicted by the anger management lacking deranged coma recoveree formerly known as Inuyasha, and whiplash with how fast she threw back her head to swallow the pill.
And Inuyasha still had the nerve to look murderous when she approached, purse in hand and keys in pocket.
"What?" Kagome met Inuyasha's glare with a flat stare. "Did I take too long, precious asshole?" She was not in the best, nor brightest, of moods.
Nor was Inuyasha. His hand flew out, encircling her throat. "We're going. Now."
She was motionless, frightened and wondering how in hell she ever could have felt sorry for this terror with terrier ears. Which reminded her, once Inuyasha had stopped trying to drain her of all life, maybe he could shed some light on the ear situation.
That is, if he ever did decide to stop trying to drain her of all life.
Inuyasha cringed a bit, the hand on Kagome's throat tightening reflexively as if reacting to pain, then quickly drew away. Resisting the urge to rub her sore throat, or the water that had gathered in her eyes, Kagome tried to calmly walk past his bulk. She succeeded in making it to the front door, when his hand locked around her upper arm.
"No running." His eyes seemed to bore holes into the back of her head.
Just try and get me to answer to that, bastard, Kagome thought defiantly, not bothering to acknowledge his words, pushing open the door and walking out into the storm again. She made it a point to disregard his keeping step with her, especially as she could sense the tension building.
Odd how she tempted a fate that so many victims in the stories she studied submitted to. Or, perhaps not.
Still, after a stiff journey down the never ending stairs, a brusque reintroduction to the car of her father's dreams, and a long, snow-laden and dangerous trip through the streets of Tokyo, Kagome had parked at the first of possible burial sites on her mental list. Calling the hospital up to reaffirm may have been wise for the sake of being right, but Kagome didn't want to deal with the questions that would have arose from her probing. As it were, enough had been turned around in the past forty-eight hours.
"Here."
Inuyasha looked at the collection of ramshackle buildings, sneering. "Don't fuck with me, wench! This isn't a, a, a... A place for dead people!"
Kagome looked tired, and unimpressed. She pointed at a sign half-obscured by snow, reading "Aoyama Bochi."
Inuyasha peered off in the direction of the sign. His frown deepened. "What?"
"Aoyama Bochi. Ring any bells?" She took his blank look to mean no. "The hospital nurses spread the ashes of people whose family members cannot be located under the cherry trees. I can't say for sure if this is where they spread her remains, but most the hospitals in Tokyo have a similar practice."
"Kikyou," Inuyasha whispered, his eyes peering off toward something beyond the falling snow, beyond seeing. "You can't be gone..." He took off at a flat run, leaving Kagome behind.
She sighed, shaking her head. It must be painful, Kagome thought, before wincing as the scratches on her chest throbbed as if to remind her of their presence. "Why do I care?" she asked, voice dampened by the snowfall. "Why couldn't it have been Souta?"
Kagome stopped, mind racing. There was something bugging her, something that had happened yesterday. Something to do with Souta...
"His name. He responded to his name!" Kagome took flight, in the direction Inuyasha had so recently departed. He responded to his name!
Shapes emerged on either side of her, hedging her pathway in the snowfall. Kagome had to find Inuyasha, had to ask him why.
Had to ask him why Souta had responded to his name.
So preoccupied was Kagome that she didn't notice the person in front of her until she'd run smack into them, falling back and hitting her head on the ground, the hapless individual landing with a thump in a snowbank. "I'm so sorry!" Kagome said, scrambling to her feet even as she was dazed. She offered her hand to the person sitting in the snow. "I didn't see you, and I was in such a hurry, I apologize-"
"Don't worry, it was nothing," said a female voice. The woman accepted Kagome's hand, and soon was on her feet. "If you don't mind me asking, why were you in such a hurry?"
"I was trying to catch up to someone, actually." Kagome peered up the path, seeing nothing. "Have you seen anyone come by here?"
"No, not anyone other than yourself. I apologize, but it seems I am unable to help in your search." Kagome sighed, but the other woman cocked her head to the side. "Still, if whomever you're searching for came this way, they certainly will pass by again to return. In which case, the least I can offer you is a warm place to wait, and a fireside to chase the chill from your bones." The woman turned, walking back the way she'd come.
"Oh no, please," Kagome began, but the woman didn't stop, forcing Kagome to follow her or chance being seen as incredibly rude. "I really shouldn't – If I can't see him-"
"Ah, so it is a man, is it?" Laughter hung on to the woman's words as she pushed open a door into a small shop.
"Well, yes, but not that kind of man, he's really just more of an... Unwanted house guest, but I can't just leave him out alone, and I've really only known him for two days, so really, it's not like that at all..." Kagome trailed off, a bit flustered and curious as to her surroundings.
"Not like what, were you saying?" The woman met Kagome's gaze, eyes kind and filled with soft, friendly teasing light. "In any case, it is not my place to meddle in the affairs of others." The woman motioned toward a chair next to a small hearth. "Take a seat, please."
"I really can't, if he goes by and I can't see him-"
The woman waved her hand in the air. "Posh. The snow's lightening already." Indeed it was, to Kagome's surprise. "Would you care for some tea? I've a pot brewing, as it is."
"Why... Yes, thank you." She sat down, peering out through the shop window to her left. A ghostly reflection of herself shone dimly on the window's surface, the odd flame flickering to life on its lucid surface. A strange assortment of smells wafted past Kagome, and she took a moment to look around the shop's innards. Odds and ends, trinkets and charms and other religious paraphernalia hung from racks and sat on shelves.
"Green tea alright with you?"
"Oh, yes! Thank you," Kagome blurted, heat rising to her cheeks as if in examining the store she were violating some secret code of conduct.
The woman emerged from the back of the shop, mug in hand. "Nothing fancy, mind you, but I've learned that tea tastes just as good in mugs as it does in cups." Extending the mug to Kagome, the woman's eyes seemed to widen a fraction, and the hand holding the mug quivered. "Oh my," she breathed.
Kagome took the mug in concern. "What is it? And thank you," she added, motioning to the mug.
"Nothing," the woman said, turning away. "Nothing at all." She paused, as if collecting herself, and then turned around, a warm smile on her face. "How terribly rude of me, forgetting to introduce myself. I'm Kaede, and this is both my home and my work."
"I'm Kagome Higurashi."
"Ahh. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Higurashi."
"Kagome, please," she interjected.
"Kagome," Kaede amended with a smile.
"What exactly is your work, Ms...?"
"Kaede will do fine, dear. I'm a bit of a miko, you could say, but I suspect you already guessed at that, what, being of that calling yourself." Kaede sat down in a chair further from the fire, watching Kagome unobtrusively.
Kagome laughed. "I'm really not, though I do live on a shrine. I'm actually attending college."
"What's your major?"
"Mythology."
"Interesting choice, in this day and age. Are you planning to become a professor yourself?"
"I haven't given it much thought. Even with just a bachelors, I hope to make some use of the knowledge to write and work with at the shrine." Something moved in the snow, distracting Kagome. A flash of black, the same color as she wore now. Inuyasha had been wearing a red coat, she thought.
"Do you see something?"
"I think so," Kagome answered slowly, standing and moving closer to the window. The red seemed to be stopped for the moment. "He was wearing a red coat-"
Then two amber eyes locked with her flint gray ones, the thin plane of glass the only barrier between her nose and that of Inuyasha's. With a choked scream, Kagome lunged backward, smacking into the chair she had risen from. A stark ringing filled her ears while the glass of the window broke under Inuyasha's claws and a blinding purple-pink light filled the room. Behind her, Kaede spoke in a garbled, old tongue, prayer beads dangling between her pointed fingers.
"Inuyasha, you should not be here!" It was Kaede's voice the called out with such command. Kagome felt a faint shock, but since having fallen to the wooden floor as glass and snow exploded inward into the shop, she'd been in great enough shock.
There was no way Inuyasha could have moved so quickly – so far!
The ringing in her ears was being replaced with a whizzing, small white balls of light zooming over her head to circle around Inuyasha's, seemingly unseen by the man. "Kagome," Kaede said firmly, now standing next to where she sat, "Control him."
"But I, I can't! I don't know-"
"A word! Find the word!" Kaede looked strained. Inuyasha was approaching, lip raised in sneer as if counting the seconds until... What?
Kagome opened her mouth, no words escaping. She stared hard at the man, imposing and wild with emotion, pain and something more. She saw his snarl, his clawed hands, the white mane of hair, and atop it all, his pointed, white ears. Canine ears... "Osuwari!"
To her amazement, he fell down to the shop floor with a crash, glass crunching beneath him as a strangled snarling curse flew breathlessly from his lips. Eyes wide, face buffeted by a sudden wind and storm of flakes moving in through the broken remains of the display window, Kagome spoke in slow, haltering bursts, adrenaline high in her bloodstream and understanding far away. "What... Just... Happened?"
At her side, Kaede sighed. "It seems there is much explaining to be done."
Kagome turned her face up to the other woman, greeted by the sight of a small smile.
"Anyone care for some tea?"
Well, dear readers, now I would like to pause and say thank you to those whom have been reading and trust I have not entirely lost myself to the dark/light world beyond this side of the monitor. From now on I am determined to do individual Thank-Yous per say the latest reviewers. I have a precious few of you, and I know I experience a thrill when I see an author has appreciated my review enough to thank me by name. So, to start off, here I go!
Hibi – I am glad that you are happy with my last chapter update, and heaven knows, as slow as I have been, my story has not exactly been any faster in the revealing. Anticipation, eh? I was struggling trying to reach a point where Kaede and the prayer beads could come on the scene before trying to explain the Shikon's role in this world. Next chapter opens up part of that, so, heh, w00t! Don't you love the wait? Merry Christmas to you too, and much thanks! I hope this chapter was well received. )
Aryll Silverhawk – Not much happened in the chapter previous to this, more of a set up for getting here so that I could have Inuyasha controllable by Kagome, and the mystery of the Shikon could start to be explored. So, heh, not that much was really missed in skim reading. Such honesty, it is admirable! XD
Lina-sama – I am hoping to keep updates rolling out more consistantly than before, and thank you profusely for finding my story interesting enough to want an update. :: grin :: It always makes me smile to know someone enjoys anything I put effort into, and in this case, a story that has been sitting in my brain for some time.
Hell's Sadistic Soul – I am glad to see someone in the multiples for reviewing! P You see, this is a good thing on my planet. Like playing tag team encouragement. I am glad you do not want to rush an update, and I am glad that this time update soon actually produced an update... Soon! I am immensely glad you enjoy my writing, and hope not to let you down in future chapters.
Priestessmykala – There is much hope in my that this story will be going where I want it to, and now that I have started myself rolling down the path I'd seen years ago I believe I am that much closer to the entirety. I am happy that you can envision Inuyasha acting in a manner such as I have written, because I sure as hell try to think what he'd do, but the situations are far different than those in the true series and small portions of the characters are as well.
Duet Masaki – I thank you for your review, and hope that this chapter is certainly soon enough. I must say, you have some of the more awesome assortments of Favorite Stories. Ever wonder what a Rocky Picture version of Inuyasha would be? Me either. P
Allrightythen.... I hope that any concerns you have as a reader are addressed to me, and must say in pause that I may as well see if some people care to take a guess at what the Shikon's tie into the story shall be...
First, cap what we, or well I, know. Kagome got the Shikon as a gift from her brother Souta four years prior to waking Inuyasha. Inuyasha's name made Souta's brainwaves fluctuate. Souta therefore recognized Inuyasha's name, we can assume. On waking, Inuyasha recognized, and temporarily managed to steal, the Shikon, which currently acts as a piece of jewely. His response was one of anger, so to speak. Souta must have met, or become involved with Inuyasha prior to Inuyasha's coma, which happened one year before Souta's. Souta went into a coma after some sort of car related accident. (Yes, I happen to know exactly how, but since I haven't stated so yet in the story, foul game to cry it out early here) What could possibly tie Inuyasha, Souta, and the Shikon together? What purpose does the Shikon serve?
The hint: The holder of the Shikon has power, but not in terms of strength. Knowledge of the Shikon can be, how do you say it, addictive?
Any guesses?
PS: Durn long A/N. Oo