Dark Lineage

Shade Five

Miroku tried several times to speak, but failed every time. A thwack from Sango remedied that. She didn't want her friend to wait any longer for his diagnosis.

"Kagome is doing things that only a dark miko is supposed to be able to do. Since it's obvious that you're going to question me soon, I'll give you a bit of information first; they are much stronger than ordinary mikos, providing they are wearing their bracelets. I suppose that Kikyo and you were the only exceptions to that rule as of now. Anyways, their bracelets are focuses, allowing them to control more power than normal."

Kagome stared at him and giggled nervously while looking out of the corner of her eye at her arms.

"If that's true, then why do I have these powers?! I'm not wearing a bracelet or anything! How, I mean where, or whatever, do these dark mikos come from?" she asked, almost too calmly analyzing the data. She ignored the fright barely showing in her friends' eyes.

Miroku sighed and sat down. Shippo and Kirara inched closer to the rest of the group, both crawling into a friendly lap.

"A dark miko comes into being when a miko dies with an unclean heart. The more painful the death, the stronger the natural, raw power." He began, but was interrupted by Inuyasha.

"That's a load of bullshit! If that was true, Kikyo would be a dark miko, doing who knows what!" he yelled, not noticing Kagome tense up at the mention of Kikyo, nor the facts that she was a corrupted miko, indeed doing who knows what.

Miroku slowly turned to face Inuyasha.

"How can you be sure that she's not?!" he demanded, losing his composure for the second time.

Sango tried to steer them clear of a disaster by asking Miroku placidly to continue. She ignored the daggers being shot at her by Inuyasha, who wanted to pick a fight.

Miroku looked at her strangely and started again.

"The Shikon jewel may have affected Kikyo's fate. I truly do not know why Kikyo was not reborn as a dark miko. Back onto the original subject; a miko will show powers once her corruption level is high enough. Usually they come back to life as we know it through the uneducated mistakes of others, or revival by one of the more powerful current ones. I believe there are many more ways, but sadly I am not aware of them."

"That's silly! Kagome's pure; she's not going to turn into one of them!" Shippo said confidently while everyone nodded in uncertain agreement.

Inuyasha was lost in thought. This did make sense. The only thing that didn't fit was Kagura's warning and Kaede's explanation. Either one of them was wrong…or both of them were.

"Damn it…" he said suddenly causing everyone to jump.

Kirara, expecting and receiving her signal, transformed and allowed Kagome to get on. Having done absolutely nothing since the morning, she was going home again after only a few hours.

Or was she…

"Kagome, you are not leaving us now." Inuyasha commanded firmly, grabbing Kirara's fur with one hand, Kagome's arm with the other. After the fitful battle of stares, she climbed back off, and he released the neko, but not the miko.

"You're never going to leave us for forever."

Surprising them all with a declaration that they would all return to the village they had only recently left, there wasn't much discussion.

Since her wounds had healed, Kagome was fit for travel. They made good time, and arrived back at the village several hours before nightfall. Kirara had been given a break, as for some reason Inuyasha wanted them all to walk. Kaede was working in her garden again when Sango squatted down next to her. Inuyasha was off somewhere, Miroku was with the girls in a vain attempt to distract himself, and Shippo was lurking around the well.

"Kaede…we think that Kagome might be a turning into a dark miko. Do you have any words of knowledge or advice?" she asked cautiously.

Kaede froze, her hand still grasping a weed. She turned to face Sango and why silently. Why it had to be brought up now, when she had thought all would be laid to rest for a while.

Kaede faced Sango and spoke solemnly.

"Has Inuyasha brought up the subject of Kikyo yet? Questioning if she truly is evil, or defending what he believes to be true?"

Sango nodded and asked, bewildered, "He has. What does that have anything to do with it? We just wondered why Kikyo was not a dark miko, considering the manner of her death. And what do you mean by what he believes to be true?"

Kaede looked her straight in the eye and said, "You must promise only to tell Miroku and no one else about what I am about to relate to you." She was obviously troubled, her hands still and on her lap.

Sango began to protest, but then stopped when she thought about it. Inuyasha was likely to get into a rage just at hearing Kikyo's name being spoken. Miroku seemed to be the only one she could tell, anyways. It's wasn't like Kagome should know, either. Her reaction to Kikyo was almost as strong as Inuyasha's, if for different reasons. She was also the subject, it wouldn't be right.

"I promise I won't tell anyone aside from Miroku." She said, resigned.

Kaede merely nodded and motioned for her to follow.

They walked for a while away from the village until a different feel to the air was around them. They sat down and made themselves comfortable, Kaede kneeling and Sango lying down.

'How can this be happening to me?' Kagome asked herself for the hundredth time, gazing at her reflection. She didn't look any different, except for the bags under her eyes and her messy hair. Her face was flushed at the moment, overheated for some reason.

Although she could have convinced herself in time, a part of her knew the truth.

'Girl, you're a dark miko. Face it; it began when Inuyasha began to see Kikyo more often. That set off your awakening Or maybe it started before that, before you realized that you loved him.'

'Shut up! I know what you're trying to do, get me to really start turning into one with all this self-doubt!' she retorted half-heartedly.

'I do love him. And he does love me, even if he doesn't show it much. I don't know too much, but that has to be true.'

'And of course, he could always just be in love with the face he saw and fell in love with 50 years ago.' The little voice kept nagging, trying to penetrate her mental defenses.

"I'm taking a bath!" Kagome yelled in frustration and marched out of her room, clothes in hand.

Souta eyed her from his room. She usually didn't yell unless she was really pissed off, and he could see no reason why, unless it was Inuyasha again. She also usually didn't talk to herself, much less raise her voice.

"Hey sis, is it Inuyasha's fault again?" he asked, oblivious to the tension that was thick in the air.

Kagome slowly turned around and…glowed.

"Whoa sis, you don't have to demonstrate your awesome miko powers!" he pleaded, backing away, trying to use humor to help save him.

'My powers? But they usually glow white, not this blood-red… she thought in a panic, the aura dimming instantly.

"Never mind! I'm going back to the feudal era, maybe Kaede can help!" she yelled at her mom and brother, who stared back at her. She dropped her clothes, not bothering to pick them up, or her backpack.

"Inuyasha's really got it coming, huh mom?" Souta asked, amused.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded in agreement. Neither knew the details, so they thought themselves very smart for figuring out what she was doing.

"Sango, have you spoken with Kaede?" Miroku asked quietly, far away from Inuyasha. Even with his enhanced hearing, he would not be able to understand. The village was having a kind of party, and the murmur of voices disguised their conversation. Inuyasha could not know of what Kaede said, no matter what.

Sango nodded and motioned for them to talk later, gesturing to everyone around them. Miroku nodded understanding back, and moved to the women, to make the wait a tad shorter. Sango immediately knocked him out with her boomerang when he turned around, the thud causing many to look their way. Blushing gracefully, she dragged him to a corner and left him.

"Inuyasha, why are you so gloomy? Is it because of Kagome?" Shippo asked naively. This earned him a lump on his head and silence from Inuyasha, flavored with a dark look.

"I'll take that as a yes." He muttered as he inched towards Kaede. He had a question of his own, similar to Sango and Miroku's, but not as well thought out.

"Kaede, what are the powers of a dark miko?" he asked timidly, looking up with bright, round eyes.

Kaede gave a start and excused herself from the conversation she had just been having with a villager over the properties of herbs. She glanced at him, a little surprised that he would ask her too. However, while the question was similar, the answer was not. Kaede didn't believe that he should know, and avoided answering directly.

"I do not know for certain." She began, but Shippo's face fell and he walked away without hearing the end. He wanted to find out if Kagome really was turning into one, for her sake as well as his. Kaede breathed a sigh of relief, glad she would not have to lie outright. She was nervous of having too many people question her knowledge.

He strolled away and went to sleep in the crook of a tree quickly. Sango gazed sadly after him and 'woke' Miroku up with a few strong shakes.

"Shippo's growing up, is he not?" she asked, almost wistfully.

Miroku sighed and said with a stretch, "That he is. Are you disappointed? Anyone would have to mature greatly when fighting against Naraku. His manipulations call for great self-control and the ability to lock away emotions." He walked away as Sango meditated on his words, both forgetting their plans for meeting at the moment.

No one noticed the presence of a demon, watching from nearby. Half-hidden in the shadows, she followed Sango, eager for the information that Kaede had been able to mask from her in the warded field. She would have to wait a while longer…at least until the next morning.

"Miroku! Kagome is going to be back this afternoon. I'll tell you what Kaede said now. Follow me!" Sango called to Miroku the next morning, after carefully inching away from where his arms had been encircling her. He sat up groggily and asked,

"If this is truly to be a secret, don't you think you can do better than shouting it all over the village? Shippo has already tried to find out. I don't think the time should worry you. There will definitely be something delaying Kagome. I thought she would be back by now, last night I seem to recall her presence at the other end of the well."

Sango quirked her eyebrow and asked very much amused, "And just when and how did you do that? I recall knocking you out."

"Don't change the subject! It was before you ungraciously did that! I am reprimanding you for your shouting, and you decide to talk of this! She probably got held up." He said grudgingly.

Come on; let us not put this off any longer." He offered his arm to her, which she refused, and they walked away to a more secluded place, Sango mentally reprimanding herself for allowing her attraction to grow so far.

Shippo watched them, bemused. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but could tell that they had been shouting. Now they were walking away like lovers. He shook his head, and then brightened as an idea for a prank occurred.

He ran to where Inuyasha sat moping near the well, waiting for Kagome. The hanyou's ears flattened as he heard the kitsune pounding near.

"Inuyasha, guess what!" he asked excitedly, batting his eyes comically.

"What?" he answered dully, turning his head to look at the well again. It was senseless; he would have scented her long before seeing her, but it gave him something to do. This time it seemed longer, considering the terms they had parted on.

"Sango and Miroku just went somewhere!"

"What's so special about that? They do that all the time, to get different shards." He said, looking at Shippo incredulously. The pair really did go off sometimes when Kagome went back to her time for shards that were simple and not being manipulated by Naraku.

"But Inuyasha! They didn't tell anyone, and before that they were shouting at each other, something about what Kaede said! Let's go see what their doing. Please Inuyasha?" he pleaded with a look, not choosing his words very carefully.

Inuyasha sighed and stood up, having perked up at the mention of Kaede's words. She always had something up her sleeve, and it wouldn't surprise him if she held back from him just because.

"Where did they go?"

"This way!" Shippo giggled in anticipation. He bounded in the direction they had gone. Inuyasha followed behind, rather dejectedly.

Kagome had planned to return that night, but, as Miroku had guessed, had been held up. Hojo, despite the hour, had come around hopefully, looking to set another date.

"Kagome, you are looking much better. How was your operation?" Hojo asked sincerely, stepping into the well-house. He was uncomfortably close.

Kagome began turning bright red before she answered abruptly.

"It was perfectly fine. Why are you here?"

He looked hurt and said, "But Kagome, don't you remember? You said that we could go to the movies tonight, and that I could find you here if you didn't show up at the schoolyard on time. Do you mean to say that something has come up again? And why are you wearing that huge backpack?"

Kagome struggled to decide what to say. If she refused, he would definitely know that something was up. Come to think of it, why was he being so suspicious and not his usual thick self? She didn't recall making any such promise in any case.

"I was just carrying it to the shrine. We usually keep it here. You know, grandpa's superstitions." She winked, and felt a little remorse. '

Well, serves him right. He's always making things up about me.'

"I'm almost ready to go, just let me change out of my new uniform into the older one and it'll all be good." As he nodded his assent, she flew up the stairs in anger, as much as frustration. Now she would have to spend the night with Hojo!

Changing into her old uniform, one that had seen many weeks in the feudal era, she paused before the mirror again. Now there was a visible change, the flush that spread across her entire face. While before it was more of a pinkish tint, it was now dark red, lending her the appearance of someone who either couldn't get enough air, or someone that…she didn't know.

'Inuyasha, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow.' She sighed and went back downstairs, pasting a smile on her face for the naïve Hojo, waiting patiently besides the door. Her mother looked puzzled as she bid them a good night.

"Miroku, I have to ask that you restrain your…needs until I have finished. It is a very serious business, and I won't appreciate distractions. Is this alright?" Sango asked, almost gently, thinking of his usual gropes. "You also can't tell anybody else about this."

Miroku nodded bewilderedly, and decided to ignore the presence of Inuyasha and Shippo. Sango had never said anything about him, besides, they probably should know.

"When Kaede began talking, I didn't believe it, until it all started to fit, so please be real quiet, too." No one sensed the presence of the fifth person listening.

Flashback

"Dark mikos are not essentially evil. They are misguided, and so believe that their path is to be evil, free to seek revenge or other similar tasks. If, however, one finds that the truth is that they could be good, but still decides to stay evil, worlds become open to them, quite literally. Their powers grow, and it would be wise to fear them.

"But I will save that for later. My sister Kieoko was born a powerful miko, powerful enough to defeat most dark mikos. It was why she had been born, to destroy them and to purify others. She was the one foretold of, that the miko Midoriko had spoken of. She was the one." Kaede could see that Sango was struggling to keep silent, and the question needed to be asked. She motioned for her to speak.

"Kaede, I thought that your sister's name was Kikyo."

"My sister is not Kikyo. Don't stare, you will find out the story later. Be patient."

"Unfortunately, she overestimated her power by a little. Unfortunately yet again, it was in the greatest battle. She was overpowered, but not killed…yet. They decided that it would do the most harm if she was…replaced with one of their own. One adept at concealing and deception. They transferred her into Hell and brought she who you know as Kikyo. Kieoko was no more, at least not in the world of the living. No one knew of the change, and Kikyo slowly changed the way they pronounced her name. You could say that they had been brainwashed."

Kaede took a shuddering breath.

"Kikyo's love for Inuyasha was real. Naraku's twisting of their love was real. She was reborn in this world again. She was not reborn as a dark miko because she was already one. That entire entire rebirth only increased her powers. However, something went wrong. She was gaining a heart. All dark mikos fear the burdens of the heart, the feelings and mercy. Few can harness the raw emotion to their own gain. Kikyo was afraid. She latched back on to Inuyasha, and it seems that her reincarnation, Kagome, is being pulled into her web also. She will soon become a dark miko. I believe that she has only to become more corrupted and die before it will happen."

Sango gasped and sat up.

"Why hasn't anyone discovered this yet?" she asked fiercely.

"Like I said, she was the master of deception. I doubt even Naraku was able to tell."

Sango thought for a moment.

"Is Kagome the reincarnation of Kieoko or Kikyo?"

"I do not know. It does stand to reason that she is the reincarnation of Kikyo. After all, she resembles Kikyo more than my sister. My sister looked alike to both, but she had several marks on her that are not present on the other to." Kaede gestured to where they would be.

"Kaede, tell me this. Where did you get all this information? Unless you were once a dark miko, I think that this knowledge is priceless and impossible to get. And does Kikyo know that you know? And-"

Kaede smiled, almost evilly.

"My sister is no longer in hell. She is here, with us even now." She smirked at Sango's expression. She had immediately started to swing her head around, looking for Kieoko. Sango sensed that something was wrong, even a human should be able to tell if there was another with them in the enchanted field.

"Not there! She is here!" she said as pointing to herself, satisfied with her reaction.

"Do you mean to say that Kieoko is within you now?!" Sango asked, almost horrified at hearing of yet another two souls sharing one body.

"Technically, Kieoko as we know here is not here, but you see, I have permitted her to take over my old body occasionally. There usually isn't a need for that. Kieoko is working on a new body now. You should be able to meet her soon, if things go well."

"But I don't get it! How did she escape? If the dark mikos are truly as powerful as you say they are, it must be nearly impossible!" Sango said, disbelieving.

"Kieoko transferred her miko powers, along with her ghost to me when she found out where she would be kept. Unfortunately, it took all of her remaining willpower and strength, so they have kept parts of her soul, and are still taking a little more back each day. I do not believe that they know why this has happened, although they are aware of where she is."

Interrupt flashback

There was a thunk from behind them. Sango whirled around quickly and gaped. Shippo sat on his head, obviously dazed. Inuyasha jumped down to pick him up calmly.

Miroku walked calmly over to him and said, "You finally revealed yourself." He would have continued, except Sango started turned very red.

"NO ONE WAS TO KNOW BESIDES YOU!!!!!" she grated out and promptly beat him up. Shippo came to and asked,

"How did it go, you guys?" Blithely ignoring the prostrate form of Miroku that was growing very familiar, he walked a little closer to the wielder of the boomerang.

Sango turned to him and glared. Shippo froze and asked sheepishly,

"That bad?" and started running, anticipating

Sango took several deep breaths and stalked back to the village, leaving Miroku and Inuyasha facing each other – in a very abstract sort of way, of course. Inuyasha looked down on his peaceful face, and sighed.

"You shouldn't have told her you knew I was there." He slung his body of his shoulder and followed Sango.

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