Disclaimer: Non, je ne posséde pas Inuyasha… (that's five year's worth of French classes, people…)
"…" – speech
'…' – thoughts
--- - change in scenery or time
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--Previously, on The Sealed Garden:
{Kagome smiled briefly before closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath.
"The story begins a long time ago… from over five hundred years past…"}
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Chapter NINE:
Guardians of the Jewel
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"Kikyou-onee-sama!" A little girl wearing an orange yukata tore through an empty path in a small village. "Kikyou-onee-sama! They're here!" She appeared to be no more than seven years of age and was running as quickly as she could, a delighted expression on her face. "Kikyou-onee-sama!"
As the little girl exited the shelter of the huts, another girl who appeared to be fourteen glanced at the running child from her spot in the planting fields. "Kaede-chan! What's wrong?" She had bright sea-blue eyes and was wearing a simple yukata of the same colour. It was rolled up to prevent it from getting wet from the fields.
Several others of the villagers stared at the running girl and mutters broke out among them.
"Youkai?"
"Is it an attack?"
"Where's Kikyou-sama?"
Kaede skidded to a stop, grinning at the girl. "Kagome-chan! The people from the exterminator's village are here!"
"Already? Didn't the messenger come only a few days ago?"
She nodded, "I think it was really important to give the jewel to Kikyou-onee-sama." She cocked her head to the side. "Do you know where she is?"
Kagome smiled and pointed towards a shrine located just in front of a forest located on the other side of the field from the village. "I think she's in the shrine, Kaede-chan."
"Right!" Waving at the girl, Kaede took off for the small building.
Just as she reached the entrance of the shrine, another girl stepped out of it, closing the door carefully behind her. She was clearly an older child, appearing to be seventeen years of age. Her long hair was pulled back, away from her face but two stubborn locks fell upon ether shoulder. She wore the garb of a shrine maiden, that is to say, a miko, with a pair of red hakama and a white top.
As soon as she saw the out-of-breath girl, concern flashed in her grey eyes. "What's happened, Kaede?"
"They're here… the people who have the-"
"Shikon no Tama…" whispered Kikyou. She stood up straight, slinging a long bow over her shoulder. "Well then, let's go meet them. Where's Omake-baa-san?"
At the mention of the village elder, Kaede grinned again. "I was helping her grind herbs when they came. Omake-baa-chan's already out to greet them. She told me to fetch you."
Kikyou nodded, smiling warmly at her sister and began walking back towards the village. "Let's go then, Kaede."
Her gait was smooth and unhurried- a dignified stroll along the narrow dirt pathway. The younger one skipped around the sister she idolised, occasionally hurrying to be in front, other times, attempting to mimic her sister. As they passed the planting fields, the villagers stopped what they were doing and bowed respectively.
"Kikyou-sama."
She was used to this treatment and no longer attempted to stop them. It had started when she had first been declared the village miko on her fifteenth birthday, and after two years, one became accustomed to it. However, as she neared the village, the girl who Kaede had stopped to talk to jumped from the fields.
"Kikyou-chan!" She smiled at the elder girl. "Congratulations!"
The other returned it just barely. "There's nothing to congratulate just yet, Kagome. But thank you."
Kaede butted in, "Would you like to come with us? I'm sure Omake-baa-chan won't mind."
Kagome looked questioningly at the elder sister.
"All right. Come with us. You're like a second sister to us in any case."
With that, the blue-eyed girl unrolled her yukata and the trio resumed walking towards the village. The young one and Kagome kept up a lively chatter while the eldest simply listened with upturned lips. Her eyes remained trained on the upcoming houses. As they passed the uncovered doorway, curious children and villagers peeked out of their houses.
Though it wasn't uncommon for the three girls to be seen together, they had heard of the news of a dangerous relic being entrusted to the care of their miko. Naturally, it had been supposed to be kept a secret, but one so important as this hadn't been concealed for long.
An old man had heard the words of a messenger who had ridden to the village only two days beforehand, and he passed it on to his wife. She told it to her best friend and she to her husband. Their children heard and passed it on to the other children, and so the chain continued until everybody knew about the Shikon no Tama.
The Jewel of Four Souls.
A dangerous item of great power.
It was rumoured that it contained the souls of hundreds of demons and one pure-hearted warrior. It was said that within the pink orb, a battle of good verses evil was forever being fought. When one of a pure soul and heart possessed the jewel, the battle was tipped in favour of good and the jewel was purified. However, when one who was evil hearted held it, the jewel became corrupt.
It was said that the jewel was able to grant any wish to any one. It increased the powers of demons and gave humans supernatural abilities. It was said that life could be granted to the dead with but a fragment of the Shikon no Tama.
The jewel was a powerful thing, and with that great power came those who wished to posses it; to besmirch it; to bend its power for their own evil intentions.
And so that was why the exterminator's village- quite aptly named -, who had held the jewel for years; who had guarded it since it was born, had decided to send the jewel to somebody who would be able to protect it and to keep the spiritual balance in check.
Kikyou's expression hardened as she recalled what the messenger had said. This would be a great responsibility, protecting the Shikon no Tama. It would be no small task, keeping dangerous demons as well has humans away from the jewel and the village. It was very possible that the demons had already sensed the jewel approaching the small village and were, even at this moment, plotting to steal it.
Although the official guardian had yet to be named, it was plain that everybody expected for it to be Kikyou- after all, who was more suited for the job?
She was the best archer out of all the villager girls.
She was the most knowledgeable in healing techniques.
She was almost certainly the wisest.
She had been appointed the village miko by the previous priestess herself!
Taking up this responsibility would mean much self-sacrifice, but she would make them, if for the sake of the villagers and most especially, the two girls who walked at her sides.
"Kikyou-onee-sama, look!"
Kikyou was snapped out of her thoughts by Kaede's sudden shout. She hadn't become aware of the fact that the two girls had stopped talking. The grey-eyed girl glanced in the direction where Kaede was pointing.
They had walked straight through the village and were now at the edge of it, near to Omake-baa-san's hut. Tethered to the wooden posts near the hut were several foreign horses- three in total.
"They must already be in Omake-baa-chan's hut," whispered Kagome.
Unbeknownst to them, several of the villagers had silently been following the trio in curiosity and were now pointing to the hut and whispering amongst themselves.
"There they are…"
"I wonder if the jewel's in there…"
"I'm sure Kikyou-sama will be able to take care of it…"
Nodding to the younger girl, Kikyou set her shoulders and walked to the entrance of the hut, pushing aside the mat blocking the doorway. Suddenly calm, the two younger girls began to follow but the miko stopped and turned around, bending down.
"You two should stay here for now. I promise I'll come out as soon as I can." And with that, she offered a kind smile to the pouting girls and silently entered the hut.
"Mou, I wish we could go in," grumbled Kaede as she and Kagome took to sitting on either side of the doorway.
The other girl sighed, "I agree, but they did call Kikyou and not us. We don't want to make a bad impression, do we?"
The two fell silent, each wondering what could be going on and formulating their own versions, while inside the hut, Kikyou was being studied by the four comers from the distant village. There was one old, withered woman, two stronger men and a young woman who had probably been sent to protect the jewel along its journey. Omake-baa-san, a kind looking old woman sat across from the strangers on the wooded floor.
A strange cat sat on one side of the younger girl- it was certainly a demon, and Kikyou could not imagine what it was doing with demon exterminators.
"You are Kikyou?" questioned the older woman.
She bowed. "Yes."
"Please, sit."
The woman complied, kneeling carefully on the spare mat next to their village elder. She glanced around at the others and found all four sets of their eyes to be trained on her, studying her.
"You have a younger sister, do you not?"
"Yes, her name is Kaede."
"Hm. And where are your parents?"
The miko was careful to keep emotionless. It was a sign of an experienced fighter, after all. "They're both dead. My mother died in giving birth to Kaede and my father from a demon attack five years ago."
There was a short silence. The younger ones appeared to be waiting for their elder to speak, but when she gave no indication of saying anything, one of the men began to talk.
"The journey here could have been perilous had any more demons known that the jewel was being moved to a new home." His hand moved to grip the sword which was attached to his waist. "We encountered many youkai. Are you sure you are able to handle the defensive measures needed to protect the Shikon no Tama?"
"I am." Kikyou kept her answer simple. She avoided looking at the old woman, who was staring at her with such an intensity, it was as if she were examining her soul.
"It will also be needed to protect the village itself from demon attacks. Just because they are looking for one thing, does not mean that the demons will politely ask for it. They will destroy all that they can to reach the jewel," the man cautioned, "Are you sure you're prepared for the challenge?"
Kikyou opened her mouth to speak, but Omake beat her to answering, "We are very proud of our Kikyou, Ori-san. The villagers and I have complete faith in her ability to protect the village."
The second mad spoke up. "There should be a place prepared for the jewel in which it will reside…"
"I have prepared it," responded the girl.
Ori questioned of the miko, "Do you know how the Jewel of Four Souls was created?"
She shook her head negative.
"It was a long time ago- decades in the past. It was in a time before our village had been established and when there was still a strong government in Japan. When the order began to fail, many people died and their rotting corpses attracted swarms of demons." He closed his eyes as if visualising the story. "The demon populations increased drastically, despite the efforts of many people. One such person was a powerful Miko named Midoriko."
The other man took up the story. "She had immense spiritual powers and could purify ten demons at once. Naturally, this enraged the demons and they soon targeted her, trying to kill her. Each attempt was unsuccessful and so they decided that they needed to join together to form one evil entity."
Ori continued, "However, to do that, they needed a vessel in which to unite. They searched and searched, and at last, fell upon a mortal man. They sought out his weaknesses and found that he loved Midoriko though she did not return it. He had an evil heart, and so the youkai possessed him, taking over his body and merging. With this new power, the demons sought out Midoriko and thus started a battle that would continue for seven days and seven nights." He stopped speaking
Kikyou listened raptly, her eyes narrowed onto whichever man was speaking.
The other took on the story, "At first, there was no clear advantage but the battle, as large as it was, soon drew in more demons and the miko was overpowered. At long last, her body was broken and she was eaten by the demons. However, gathering the little strength that remained, Midoriko took hold of the demonic souls with her power, thus drawing in her own soul.
"The souls formed a concentrated entity and were forced out of her body as…"
"The Shikon no Tama," finished Kikyou for the man. "I had heard of such a rumour before. The battle continues within the jewel between the demon souls and the soul of the miko."
"Yes. So, you understand that this is a great risk for you to undertake? If you are unable to purify the jewel, then it will become unclean and attract many more demons."
"I understand. I am prepared."
There was a short silence before the soft voice of the girl entered the air. "I believe that all that remains is giving Kikyou-sama the jewel."
In her hands, she carried a medium sized box which looked ordinary enough. It had been carved in wood and small designs had been traced onto its lid. However, as normal as it seemed, Kikyou could sense the power it concealed and she felt almost afraid despite herself. Instead of focusing on the box, she raised her gaze to look behind the girl and found herself gazing at a large boomerang that seemed almost ridiculous in its size.
"It's name is Hiraikotsu." The girl had caught her gaze. "A family heirloom and a formidable weapon."
Kikyou nodded.
Ori cleared his throat and glanced at the exterminator girl, "If you will then, Kanshou." He gestured towards the box.
Her hands lifted as she began to present the box to Kikyou, but even as the miko's hands reached out to receive it, a withered voice broke the silence, "Stop."
All five people glanced at the old woman and Kanshou slowly drew her arms back so that the box returned to her lap. Kikyou let her arms fall, feeling a slight twinge of apprehension.
"You, Kikyou, are not the one to hold the jewel."
Her sudden revelation had the same effect as a heavy weight being dropped onto the miko's spirits. For this great honour to have been taken away from her was a massive blow to the girl's pride. However, for risk of sounding disrespectful, she kept her silence.
"Why not, Akuba-sama?" Instead, it was Omake who asked the question that was bothering Kikyou and the other exterminators. "Does she not fulfil the requirements?"
"She would indeed have been able to protect the jewel, but I have determined that she is not perfectly… suitable." Akuba's solemn gaze stayed on Kikyou's face, which she maintained to be perfectly stoic. "She is the model shrine maiden, but for this purpose…"
Kikyou bowed her head, feeling, for the first time in years, tears of disappointment gathering at the corners of her eyes. She blinked rapidly behind her long bangs. She would not cry. "I understand, Akuba-sama. I respect your decision." She felt her village elder's hand resting gently on her shoulder, offering her silent support.
"Hm." The old woman rose and the three exterminators followed suit. The other two native to the village also got up to send off the travellers. "We shall be leaving to search for another willing to take on the task. Thank you, Omake-sama and Kikyou-san for receiving us."
Omake hurried ahead of them to lift aside the mat. The miko awaited for the visitors to leave ahead of her, but Akuba gave her a withered smile and gestured for her to be first. As soon as she had left the shelter of the hut, two voices bombarded her with questions.
"How'd it go, Kikyou-chan?"
"Do you have the jewel?"
"Were you scared?"
"Did you meet the people?"
"Is it as powerful as they say?"
"Is-"
"I wasn't well suited for protecting the jewel." Kikyou intercepted Kaede's question. "The people from the exterminator's village are leaving with the jewel." Her voice was loud enough so that it carried around the large crowd of the gathered villagers. Mutterings and whispers broke out at once.
The miko kept her disgruntled expression at bay- Akuba-sama hadn't even given a reason why she couldn't be the guardian of the jewel.
The two younger girls became suddenly silent and gazed at the young woman. Kaede looked disappointed for her sister and sad, but Kagome's gaze held something that Kikyou did not want from her- pity.
"You'll still be out best miko, Kikyou-chan," voiced the blue-eyed girl softly.
She nodded stiffly and turned around to see as the visitors to village only just walk out of the hut. One by one, they nodded at Kikyou, but when Akuba-sama walked out, second to last, she began to nod, only to freeze. Her eyes grew wide, and the miko became alarmed.
"Akuba-sama? What's wrong?"
Kikyou followed her gaze to see that the old woman was staring at something- or rather, somebody standing next to her…
Kagome.
"You…" Her cracked voice pierced the sudden silence. "You, girl. Come here."
The fourteen-year old child started, and looked at Kikyou with wide eyes, who inclined her head only a fraction of an inch, curious about what was going on. A barely perceptible line appeared on her forehead.
Kagome started hesitatingly for the old woman and bowed shortly before her. "Hello."
"What is your name?" the woman asked in a voice that was bordering on kind.
She bit her lip nervously. "Ka-Kagome."
"You're not from this village, are you?"
The girl's eyes widened before she answered slowly, "I live here."
"But you were not born here."
Kagome shook her head. "No." Her eyes were downcast. "My old village was destroyed five years ago by a hoard of youkai. My parents died trying to save me and my brother."
"And your brother? Where is he?"
"He… he was killed by a serpent demon."
Some sympathetic murmurings passed among the crowd before it grew silent again. Kikyou's frown had hardened and her hand reached up to grip her bow. She remembered seeing a bloodied and crying nine-year old girl stumbling towards their village on that day. Kikyou herself had only been twelve, but it was on that day that she had decided to become a protector of her village so the same fate would not befall it.
Kagome too, could remember the event vividly. Fire sprung up among the houses as dozens of demons raided through the, picking off the children first. Kagome had survived only because her father had distracted the demons while she ran. Sometimes, she still dreamed about her friends' screams and pleas for help…
"And yet, with such a horrible past, your soul remains remarkably pure…" murmured the old woman. "You heart is good."
"Pardon?"
Sparing a small smile at the girl, Akuba raised her head and beckoned the exterminator girl over. "Kanshou. The jewel, please."
At that, a wave of mutters passed around crowd before it grew silent. Kikyou's eyes had widened in disbelief and Kaede stared at her friend in shock. The two men from the other village exchanged curious glances and Kanshou studied the young girl silently as she brought forth the small box. She offered it to her village elder.
Taking it, the old woman held it out to Kagome. "What do you see, child?"
Kagome blinked at it. "It's a wooden box… with carvings on the top." She traced along the lines without touching the box. "It says 'Shi-kon'."
"But beyond the box. Study it, Kagome. What do you see?"
She squinted. "There's something like a ball in there. It's glowing, and it feels very… powerful… and warm."
Kikyou frowned, as did the rest of the surrounding people. What was the girl talking about? Nothing was glowing!
"Excellent…" whispered Akuba. She tipped open the lid on the box, revealing a darkly glowing jewel. Several gasps circulated the crowd. "Kagome, take hold of the jewel."
The box was lined with a type of fabric and on top of a small cushion rested a fairly sized ball- larger than any seeds Kagome had ever used in planting. It was attached to a chain of shell-like objects. Oh, but the jewel was so beautiful that some of the villagers felt a strange yearning to touch the jewel, even if it were for a second. It was as if the Shikon no Tama was calling each and every one of them.
But everybody stood their ground.
Frightened, the young girl turned to look at Kikyou, whose gaze at her was unsettling, to say the least. A subtle frown decorated her expression, and she was looking at Kagome as though she had never seen the girl before. But then, catching her unsure gaze, the miko nodded, her eyes closing.
Everything was dead silent as one of the girl's trembling hands reached out to touch the darkly coloured orb. Akuba watched her progress carefully. Softly, just barely, one of the tips of Kagome's fingers brushed the surface of the jewel and with a suddenness that startled the girl, the jewel suddenly became a bright, innocent pink. Her hand jumped back in surprise.
The silence was absolute before the old woman breathed, "Very good. Incredible." When the girl made no move to take the jewel, she encouraged her, "Go on, Kagome. Pick it up."
Nodding, she brought out both hands this time and slowly cupped them around the jewel, lifting it out of the box. The Shikon no Tama gave a faint pulse in her hands, almost as if it were happy. But Kagome frowned. Jewels couldn't be happy, could they?
"Excellent." The old woman shut the box with a click. "Kagome, you are the one to guard the jewel." Her voice had become strong and loud once more. "Your pure soul is just the thing needed to keep the jewel from becoming corrupt."
At these words, the girl's mouth dropped open and she stared at Akuba. "Bu-but… me? Kikyou-chan…"
"Kikyou is a noble woman, but…" she raised her gaze to the woman, who rearranged her face so that it showed no emotion. "But… she is not suited for the task." Akuba nodded her approval of Kagome but kept her gaze steadied on Kikyou. "You should be trained to defend yourself and the village. With the jewel taking residence here, it will be extremely dangerous for you."
The miko, watching the old woman's unwavering gaze, nodded only briefly to show that she understood her words.
She would train Kagome in the lifestyle of a miko.
Giving a sudden heavy sigh, Akuba turned and looked at the village elder. "Omake-san, thank you again for taking us in. This is a great risk for your village."
Still shaken by the news that Kagome would be guarding the jewel, the elder nodded jerkily. "It is an honour."
The old woman hobbled to her companions and with the assistance of Ori, mounted one of the brown horses. Ori untied her horse for her. Each of the men climbed up on their mounts but the girl, Kanshou was left without one.
The villagers were wondering what she would do and whether or not her horse had run away when she called in a clear voice, "Kirara!"
From within the hut, a small two-tailed cat ran out and stopped at the foot of its mistress. With a soft mew, Kirara burst into sudden flames, causing several of the villagers to cry out in surprise.
"That cat! It's on fire!"
But then the fire went out and where there previously stood a small feline was now a large and fierce one. Its cry was no longer soft but a loud roar. Surrounding its paws were rings of fire and it kept the two tails along with the markings on its face.
"A demon-!"
Kanshou got up on her cat demon's back and patted Kirara's neck. Glancing at her fellow villagers, she nodded.
"Alright, then," Akuba spoke to the other three, "Let's go."
They took off in a sudden cloud of dust, but most surprising of all was the cat, which proved its ability to fly by taking several large leaps before soaring off into the sky. Shouts burst from the crowd as fingers pointed.
"What was a demon doing with her?"
However, while the crowd's attention was fixed on the figures in the distance, Kikyou and Kaede gazed at the girl in front of them. Kagome hadn't moved from her spot in front of the hut, and was staring at the jewel in her hands as though turned to stone. Slowly, the elder girl started towards her and Kaede, startling a little, followed hesitatingly.
"Kagome-chan?" the younger sister looked at her, concerned. "Are you all right?"
She turned around, palms outstretched towards Kikyou as if asking her confirmation that what had happened was real. The miko reached out with a steady hand, almost as if to touch the Shikon no Tama but at the last second, snatched it back.
"Congratulations," she echoed Kagome's words from before, "You've been declared the guardian of the Shikon no Tama." Kikyou kept the surprise and disappointment out of her words, but Kagome could see it in her eyes.
"Kikyou-chan… Maybe we could… protect it… together?" she suggested timidly.
At those words, the miko blinked and gazed in surprised at the girl. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you're much more experienced than I am at these sort of things." She pulled a face. "I can't even shoot an arrow straight. Maybe we can both be guardians!" She smiled hopefully at the miko. "Please?"
Kikyou's stony expression melted away and she smiled a little at the girl. "Sure, Kagome. I'll help you."
"What about me?" protested Kaede, "I want to help too!"
Hands closing over the jewel, Kagome grinned at the seven-year-old girl. "That's a great idea! We'll all protect the Shikon no Tama together!"
"Yeah!"
As if in response to Kagome's happiness, the jewel in her hand glowed momentarily a bright pink but it went unnoticed by everybody except for Kikyou.
She stared at Kagome's closed hand and smiled sadly. 'The jewel will be protected by all three of us, but it was Kagome who was Chosen. Not I.'
The blue-eyed girl, leading her younger friend towards the shrine house, didn't notice Kikyou's almost wistful gaze following her. The elder sister shook her head and sighed, walking forward to join the young ones.
Kagome snapped out of daydreaming and glanced up into the trees.
"Kikyou taught the both of us how to use the bow and arrow properly and soon, I could actually hit what I was aiming for. Kaede-chan mastered it more quickly than I did." By now, Kagome was feeling distinctly nostalgic about her childhood.
She had spent the last hour and some few minutes telling the hanyou beside her about how she had come to possess the jewel, and now it was mid-noon. She could almost picture the events in her mind as though they had happened only yesterday. She could see Kaede's youthful energy and Kikyou's reserved personality.
"Just as the people from the exterminator's village had said, our village soon became the central target for hundreds of demons…" The spirit sighed and looked towards Inuyasha, tired of talking. "Inuyasha?" She frowned. "Inuyasha!"
The half-demon was asleep! The nerve of him!
"Inuyasha!" She shouted into his ear, "Wake up!"
The ear flicked.
There was no response.
The miko frowned and using her powers, lifted the large container of clean water so that it hovered over the sleeping man's face. Slowly, she got up and moved behind the tree, carefully keeping the piece of bark over his head. With a shadow of a smirk and a flick of her wrist, she flipped it upside down.
Needless to say, he woke up with a start.
"What the fucking hell, Miroku?!"
Inuyasha suddenly bolted up from leaning against the tree and wiped his face, spluttering. Nearby, Kagome was having a hard time controlling her fit of giggles at the hanyou's reaction. After shaking his head irritably, he looked around, no doubt for Miroku so that he could do some serious injury.
He found himself in the garden.
"Huh…?" Then, memory returned, and Inuyasha glanced around again, this time in search for a certain red and white clothed girl… "Eh… Kagome?" Water droplets dripped from his head to his clothes. "Kaagooomee?" She was nowhere to be found.
He looked up- and found a certain piece of rounded bark hovering above his face. The hanyou stared at it, perplexed. His mind couldn't process why something was floating with no visible means of support. "What-" Just at that moment, the wood lost whatever was keeping it in the air and crashed down on Inuyasha's upturned face. "-the hell?"
Taking the wood off his face, the hanyou tossed it away. He pieced together the facts and alighted on an explanation. "Kagome!"
He couldn't see her, but his nose twitched, detecting a familiar smell just around the tree. A slow smirk crossing his face, Inuyasha began to turn around. "I wonder where she could be…" he mock called.
Doggy ears heard a soft giggle.
With a sudden burst of speed, he whipped around the trunk to find-
Nothing.
"Huh?" He'd been so sure she was here, in fact, her scent was still fresh. And if his nose was right (it was never wrong, after all), then the spirit should be… above him…
Inuyasha looked up.
"How-?"
There she was, hovering several feet above the ground and grinning impishly at the hanyou below. After a few more minutes of floating, the miko slowly brought herself down to face the open-mouthed Inuyasha.
"Remember those laws you told me about? Like gravity and such?"
He nodded his head dumbly.
"Well, I don't have to follow them." Demonstrating the fact, Kagome hopped into the air- and stayed there. She approached the tree and floated right into it, laughing. "You don't know how strange it is to be inside a tree!" Her voice was even more echoed that usual. She reappeared in front of Inuyasha. "Hello? Are you still in there?" She floated in front of him, squinting into his golden eyes. "Inuyasha?"
She grew concerned when there was still no response. "Are you all right? Inuyasha?" The miko waved a hand slowly in front of his face, "That piece of wood didn't knock you out, did it?"
His face twitched.
Before Kagome had a chance to react, the hanyou had suddenly struck out with his arms towards the spirit. Badly startled, she shrieked loudly and fell right out of the air… and through the ground.
He was surprised at the sudden disappearance, but then as a highly disgruntled spirit slowly emerged from the ground, an eyebrow ticking dangerously, he couldn't keep it in anymore.
The half-demon burst out laughing and leaned against the tree for support. "You… should… have seen… the look… on your face!" he said between breaths.
Eyes screwed up in laughter, Inuyasha couldn't have seen what Kagome was doing, but when he heard a loud rustle, golden eyes opened curiously- then widened in shock.
"Err… Kagome?" The girl's arms were raised and hovering high above her, it appeared that all the leaves that had ever fallen in the garden had collected into one large pile. "You- you're not going to… throw that, are you?"
"Oh…" A dangerous gleam was in her eye. "I wouldn't dream of it." Her voice was laced with a sarcasm that Inuyasha had never heard her use.
"Wench…err... Kagome I- I'm wet! C-come on…" He nervously started backing away from the monumental pile. "Please?" he squeaked as the pile moved to hover just above his drenched head.
She dropped it.
"Whoops," the miko dropped to ground level and 'stood' on the ground. "My mistake. I just lost my hold." She began traipsing away. "Next time you ask me to tell you a story, Inuyasha. Listen." Kagome disappeared into the forest.
A scowling hanyou dug his way out of the pile and emerged, several new decorations in his hair. It appeared that with the leaves had also been dirt and various insects as well. Picking off a centipede, Inuyasha irritably brushed off his head as well as he could but the water made it hard to get rid of the dirt.
"Dammit… I hate washing this stuff…" He fingered a lock of silver hair, sighing. Golden eyes looked back to try and catch a glimpse of the miko but it appeared that she had already left.
Leaping out of the pile of leaves and various forest critters, he shook himself out, rather like a dog and began walking for the entrance, picking up his bloodied shirt on the way. As he passed the damage his and Kagura's fight had done on the grass floor, Inuyasha frowned and bent down. They were already beginning to close up much in the manner his cuts had already healed. It seemed as though the plants here possessed enhanced powers as well.
Near the entrance, he turned around. "I'll be back!" He called in a half threatening voice before stepping out of the open doors and closing them.
It was only when he had reached the house and was near halfway through a large bowl of ramen before Inuyasha remembered something.
"Shit! My shoes!"
He very near choked on a noodle.
Review Responses:
-- hanyou-elf
… I'm not saying anything. Actually, I will say this: Are you a mind reader or something? But, the story might go any way. It depends on my mood… XD
-- Sarah the original
Oh, don't worry… there shoud be more fights… Just remember that Kagome was raised to be respectful to others with her miko training. But once her real self comes out... there should be more arguments… (I just repeated myself, didn't I?)
-- yoshikurobladedancer
Oh no, don't worry- you don't sound gay at all, and I'm glad you like this story. You like solving mysteries? Well, that's good. I hope you keep on sticking by this...!
-- Danny
As for the Kag/Inu/Kik thing, that was for the reader's pure opinion, but dont worry- it's Inu/Kag all the way. Your idea was terrific, and if I can find a way to incorperate it, I will, but right now, I'm focusing more on Kagome and not Inuyasha in the sense of the central romantic figure.
-- Dark-Magician-41
They'll get together eventually. There's still that whole 'she's dead' thing right now. And now Mat's in the Sahara Desert... traveller's miles, no?
-- Mental Monky
O boy. This was a long one... Okay. My opinion on Kagura is purely neutral, as it is for Houjo. I don't hate either of them but I don't particularly like them (I do pity the both though). Is Houjo being possessed by Naraku? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe he's just evil. The chapter was short? Whoa. 5000 words wouldn't be what I'd consider to be short, but for it seeming to fly by, is that a good thing? Inu is a stubborn puppy, isn't he? -.-;;
-- sarahlovesDBZ
How will Kagome be revived? Well, that should be taken care of by the end of the story. Will she be reincarnated? Well, that would take an awful lot of time (her growing up and all), however, that would mean more torture for you readers out there... XD. Don't worry. It should work out (eventually).
-- Eloraya
They're all in character except for Houjo... how can I explain this? Well, I didn't want to create a new character as a sub-evil character, so I took somebody who is not... widely liked from the series. There's also that convenient little factor that the guy doesn't have much of a personality in the series (as he doesn't show up nearly as much). .
-- lady lilacks
Please refer to Eloraya's response in regards about to Houjo's personality (right up there...) -. And yes, it is kinda creepy, no?
-- inuphoria
Heh, yes. Chosen counterpart indeed. But it's not going to be that blown up... at least, I don' think it is...
.
Many thanks to:
Poison Death Tree
Sarcasm Girl8
bittersweet-memory
FieryDemonFox
Inuyashadabest
Izayoi (I'm glad too, but I wonder who wasn't...?)
OEC (Eh? Anything? I'm going to have to think about that...XD)
Flaming-Rosetta-Stone
AngelMiko289
darkscorpio28
Katami (I know, eh?)
Samieko (cliffy? I thought the chapter was getting a little long...)
sapphire pink
silver serpent eye
Note: If you want longer responses, or have additional questions not regarding this story, feel free to email me, and I'll respond through there!
Translations: I don't really 'like' using Japanese words in my story, but sometimes, the language just makes so much more sense than English... Repeated terms will not be translated again in later chapters.
Onee-sama - Big sister with a respective prefix and added suffix
Yukata - Summer kimono like clothing
Youkai - Demon, though not an accurate translation
-chan - suffix: endearment
Hakama - pants... though for some reason, I don't think the word 'pants' is able to do 'hakama' justice...
Shikon no Tama - Jewel of Four Souls
Baa-chan - grandmother
Miko - shrine maiden / Shinto priestess
Mou - a sort of noise of frustration, a little like 'grr', only not exactly...
[Eh. You may have gotten an author alert that a new chapter had been posted. (TEN)
Weeelll... Sorry about that.
I was realoading this one because I found a disgraceful amount of spelling errors, so I corrected (hopefully all of) them. Then, while in replacing the document, I accidently pressed 'create a chapter'
--;;
Yeah.]
Original AN:
[As for the people I made up, their names have no importance… I don't think… You might want to check out a translator to find out what each of them mean, and if I got the genders wrong... bah.
An information chapter, more than anything. Most of the information of the formation of the jewel was gathered from Chris Rijk's awesome translations of InuYasha.
And for the story, of course Kagome couldn't have known all that was described, but that format was better than just reading an entire page of monologue, no? Oh yes. And no, Kikyou is not evil in any way. Just imagine being in her situation: the best, probably the brightest was upstaged by a completely normal looking younger girl.
Till next time...
Ja!]