A/N: I finally got around to updating. Yay. Unfortunately, Heartfire as well as my other fanfiction, The Housekeeper and Me, will be up on hiatus for about a month. I'll be in Europe. So don't expect me to update then. I'll try to write, but don't count on it.
Disclaimer: Do you think that I own Inuyasha?
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Chapter IIX: Flight
Feeling the warm, soothing wetness of a worn, but soft cloth being pressed to his forehead, Inuyasha regained consciousness. His eyes stirred, uncertainly, beneath his eyelids. It was comforting, and the balmy temperature of the rag seemed to magically stir thoughts up in his mind.
He kept his eyes closed, thinking of the numbness that was his body. Everything…Everything was completely dark, and sleep was an abyss he had not yet fully escaped.
But he was determined to. His eyes fluttering open, the first thing that he saw was Miko's delicate face. She was staring at him, her eyes shining in the cool, bleak shade of the room, a solitary candle burning in an earthenware holder on a small wooden table.
She was gazing down at him with an expression that Inuyasha had never seen on her face: sadness.
However, as she moved the rag across his forehead, her touch tender, she seemed to notice that he was awake. A glimpse of relief passed onto her face.
She removed the rag and put a frail hand to the side of his forehead, tactfully brushing away his pale strands of hair, matted to his skin because of the moisture.
Miko seemed hardly aware of her own gesture.
Inuyasha looked away from her, turning his head to the side so that his cheek was pressed to the tatami mat beneath him.
It was a slightly avoidant movement, and Miko seemed to catch on without being offended. She moved to the side slightly.
By the sound of faintly trickling liquid, she was dipping the cloth into a bowl of water, and wringing it gently.
"Inuyasha…" she murmured softly, her thoughts a mess, "How do you feel?"
"Horrible," he rasped, his voice not fully recovered.
Miko managed a slightly crooked smile at his blunt answer, placing the cloth on his forehead again.
Inuyasha…How do you feel?
Inuyasha.
She had called him Inuyasha.
Oh, yeah.
I'm supposed to be upset, right?
After all that secrecy, Miko knew his name. He felt as he had when she had found out about his vulnerability on the New Moon. Not terrified, but rather, concerned. Being in danger brought out the maturity in him, and anyone could tell you that it was a rare occasion that did.
As if reading his mind, she spoke up uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I'll call you Shijou if you prefer."
"No, it's alright," said Inuyasha, turning his head so he now gazed up distractedly at the low ceiling. He was busying himself tracing the grain-lines around and around in the wooden panels above him.
Miko, meanwhile, was busying herself tending to Inuyasha. She took the rag off his head once more, set it in the bowl, and leaned forward to look at his wounds.
"Sorry," she said again.
"For what? It's just a name-" he began to answer impatiently. These words were followed, or rather, cut off, by a sharp, severe intake of breath.
He looked down at his upper abdomen, where the pain had originated. Miko had begun peeling off the long bandage that covered his stomach.
"Sorry again," she said.
He was beginning to grow tired of all these "sorry"s, but he let it fly. What she had just done, even with a tender touch, had sent spiraling rivets of pain into his head.
She continued to take off the bandage, so Inuyasha was forced to grit his teeth and bear it. Miko looked up at his wincing, but determinedly persisted.
"Just…How do you know?" he asked sullenly.
"Ancient law of the gods," Miko said, not looking at him. She stripped off the last segment of bandage on his abdomen. The air in the room was cool, and wafted over his deep wounds gently.
"Which would be?" Inuyasha didn't feel so weak now; speech was coming easier to him by the minute.
"Simple," she said, ready to give a concise answer. "I saved your life, your identity, your existence…so now it's mine. To do with as I please."
She explained well enough. "Oh," he answered.
"I never used to believe it," she said, looking down at her fingertips, spotted with his blood, and shaking her head.
"You didn't believe the legend, either," said Inuyasha, coughing up blood. Miko brought over a small bowl for him to spit it into.
"You did," she murmured, shaking her head insistently.
"And look. Look where it got me," he said, coughing harder.
He saw her stop and stare, a single tear rolling down the contours of her face. He felt slightly bewildered as it fell onto his right shoulder.
This doesn't feel right, he thought. She shouldn't be shedding tears for me.
She took a deep breath, short sobs racking her body, then brushed a tendril of stray hair behind her ear, preparing to get back to work.
He spotted a red glint of something below her ear, and barely realized he was reaching his arm up to touch it.
"Your earring…" he started, touching one bead and sending it swinging back and forth, "The old one…Where did it go?" She used to wear hollow blue beads and diamonds on her right ear. But now, the diamonds continued longer than usual, and the beads were a glinting blood red.
She looked surprised, then considered his question. Her cheeks turned pink. "I…I broke it," Miko said, the faintest hint of a shrug lining her shoulders.
"When?" he asked curiously, letting his arm fall back to his side again.
"Oh…A few months ago," she said, biting her lip. She subconsciously raised a hand to touch her earring.
She looks embarrassed…
"That's funny. I never noticed it before…" his voiced trailed off before he coughed again, harder this time. He had reached over for the bowl before she had, and spent the next few seconds hacking up blood into it.
He finally set it down, Miko looking at him worriedly.
As if the coughing had cleared his mind, he propped himself up with his arms. She didn't stop him.
They were now face to face, and he looked at her with realization. "Oh."
She understood, and suddenly fell still and quiet.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked tiredly.
"I didn't think it was important..." Miko answered, looking away from his eyes. "It isn't, really. What matters is that…That you're awake now."
"You tell me things I can't believe." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I thought…All of what happened…Happened last night."
"It happened three months ago, Inuyasha," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I thought you wouldn't have wanted it brought up. It was a coma…You hardly breathed for the first week. But your heartfire…It was still there."
"How exactly did you break your earring?" he asked. Talking about his near-death was surprisingly morbid, even though he was alright now, well on his way to a full recovery.
Miko turned, picking up something from the small wooden table. "Long story."
"I'm not exactly going anywhere, if you noticed," Inuyasha answered.
Miko laughed at that, and nodded quietly, considering what to say to him.
He liked her laugh. It was like realizing music in a world devoid of sound.
She picked up a deep bluish-green herb and blew on it to clear the dirt away, or to perhaps increase its potency. "It happened that night."
"Tell me everything," he persisted. "I can't remember."
She sighed and began grinding the herb into a wet poultice. "It was after you summoned the priestess. I had stayed at the catacomb entrance. And-" She paused to think and collect her thoughts. "And you summoned Naraku."
"Is that possible? I didn't even know!" Inuyasha insisted.
"I had never thought about it, either. But he did, after all, die in the same place she did."
"So I," started Inuyasha, wanting not to believe it, "I split open both of their graves?"
"They weren't designated. You never could have known."
He knew that Miko was trying to comfort him, but what good did her reassurance do when it didn't change anything?
"And Naraku fled. Is that how your earring broke? You shot him?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered quietly, beginning to apply the poultice to the wounds on his stomach. The substance was icy cold, but it stung horribly. He hoped that it meant that it was working.
"Seal earring, then?"
"You're quick," Miko acknowledged, frowning slightly.
"My father wears a seal bracelet. But I never knew that they could break. How in the world did you break yours?" Inuyasha asked. It was unthinkable.
Any sort of seal ornament was there for one thing – to keep an individual's true power in check. If it was to break, all the suppressed energy would be released at once, and just the sheer intensity of the discharge could destroy an enemy.
"I don't know how I broke it. I really…" she trailed off, applying more of the poultice to his upper abdomen, and then placing a new, clean bandage over it. She didn't look at him, though she was speaking to him. She just stared thoughtfully down at her hands. "I really scared myself."
"So you killed him," Inuyasha said.
He wasn't asking. It was inferred. Though he didn't like to admit it, Miko was stronger than him in some ways, and anybody overcome by her power would most likely die. That was the purpose of the seal earring, to keep that power away from her reach. But in this instance, it was fortunate.
Suddenly he began to hear small, muffled sobs from where Miko was sitting.
She's crying…?
She finally looked up, wiping her cheeks where fresh tears had fallen.
"I didn't," she said with a wavering voice.
"You didn't," he repeated, not quite understanding yet.
"I wasn't strong enough!" she said in quiet outburst, the tears spilling down the pristine white hakama shirt. She was shaking, and her voice was unsure, hesitant. "He's still alive."
Inuyasha paused, finally comprehending. But then, if Miko had been the one to shoot him, then…!
She's in danger!
"He's after you?" he asked, sitting up, face full of concern.
Miko shook her head. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha," she said, nearly choking with the tears in her throat.
The next words he heard were the deciding of his fate.
"I'm sorry. He's after you."
-
Miko stayed with him throughout the days, watching over as he recovered. He soon stopped coughing up blood, but he still had long-lasting cold sweats and high fevers.
It was nothing he couldn't handle, though. The worst part was dealing with the wounds. They were deep and Miko's bandages and poultices never really seemed to help; at times there would be sparks of pain, other times he lay numb, and sometimes it felt as if the pain were gnawing at him from the inside.
Miko told him that there was a possibility that the scars would never fade, that he would bear them as memories his entire life.
Not that he would ever forget them.
The second day since he first woke from unconsciousness, he was well enough to walk around his room. Miko would encourage him.
Something seemed missing from her since the days before what happened at the catacombs. She was taciturn, thoughtful, and looked upon Inuyasha with such a sad expression that he thought he was the cause of it. They talked, but she never really seemed to want to.
But mostly his time of day was spent thinking. Thinking about what he had done, the people he had brought back, what would happen to him later. Sometimes he dreamt about Kikyou, with her startlingly frail face, her sad haunting beauty.
Then he began to think about how much she and Miko looked alike.
A week after his waking from the coma, Sensei arranged to see him. And when he came into the room, something in his face had changed also. Lines of knowledge and sorrow had been chiseled into the old man's forehead, and his chin had the makings of a beard.
Miko set a small tray between the two of them as soon as Sensei had seated himself. Inuyasha decided not to touch his; he didn't appeal to the bitter smell that wafted into his nostrils. Then she left the two to talk, leaving the room.
Sensei picked up his cup of tea, taking a long, large gulp before setting it down with a sigh.
"As you can see," the elder started, "much has happened in the time that you have been sleeping."
Inuyasha gave a noise of assent, and the man continued.
"To begin, why don't you tell me what you have learned from Miko?" he asked.
Inuyasha paused. "She told me as best as she could what happened that night. I split open the graves of a priestess and demon. When I asked, Miko said she broke her seal earring when she shot Naraku, who was trying to get away."
"That she did. But she also did tell you-"
"Hai. That he wasn't killed. Then she told me that Naraku was after me." Inuyasha gave a miniscule shrug. "That's all. She hates talking about it, so I didn't want to ask…"
"I thank you for sparing her feelings. This has affected her more than you will ever know," said Sensei, taking another sip of tea.
"She's alright, though?"
"Physically, in perfect condition. However, she believes that she was…" Sensei appeared to consider what to say. "That she was responsible for what happened to you."
"That's completely stupid!" Inuyasha protested.
"Shijou, I am simply telling you what has happened to her. And I mean to tell you that it was not her doing whatsoever. She believes- and she told me this herself- that when you were attacked, she thought she had sent you to your death."
Now Inuyasha felt responsible for her pain. He never thought of it that way- maybe now he understood her silence this past week.
"Miko is the best herbalist here, and after what happened at the cliffside, a good number of students were sent to Master Herbal for traumatic scars. They were having nightmares in their sleep. Some couldn't even sleep. So, our hands were full- we didn't even have to ask her to tend to your wounds."
"I didn't think so," Inuyasha said, subconsciously touching his stomach, where the huge scar was healing.
"Yes. She's a wonderful girl. But she's horribly burdened at this point. She's done a good job helping you on your way to recovery."
"Yeah," said Inuyasha, thinking about what Miko must have felt the three months he was unconscious.
"However, there are much larger matters at hand," Sensei interrupted. "The concern of Naraku having been released is more important than you, her, or even me."
Sensei leaned forward to pour himself more green tea. "He is no ordinary demon, Shijou. He has power unimaginable."
When Sensei said something like that, it must mean something horrible. Inuyasha thought that his teacher was the strongest person he had ever known, aside from his father, but it was a different sort of power. They carried different bits of eclectic wisdom; Inutaisho knew all about the workings of war; Sensei knew how those sorts of things scarred the soul.
As if reading his mind, Sensei said, "Hard to vision, but it is nothing short of the truth. And I tell you the truth in the strong faith that you will accept it, Shijou, for you are a strong person with a strong sense of will."
He put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"And I also tell you because I know you are the type of man, Shijou, who will accept nothing but the truth. So I tell you: Naraku is a powerful demon, whom no man can face, either alone or with a whole army behind him."
That left Inuyasha precious few choices.
"Then what am I going to do?"
"You must run, Shijou."
Reality began to sink in fully. Despite its drawbacks, Inuyasha did wish to continue his education here at Goshinboku Seminary.
"Run to the ends of the earth if you have to. Because running is sometimes better than losing your life needlessly."
Inuyasha was slightly reminded of one of the last conversations he had had with his father in Hosusori. It had been right after he attacked Lord Subeki and his manservant; on his birthday.
Yes…He remembered now.
"Cowardice is a separate thing from caution."
"What will I gain from hiding?" Inuyasha asked defiantly.
"Perhaps…A few more years of life," Inutaisho replied.
Returning to the moment at hand, Inuyasha nodded stiffly to Sensei.
"I'm sorry to have put this upon you, Shijou," he said. "I fear for the well being of this school and its students. The last time Naraku existed on this earth, his power came from those whom he absorbed. When you freed him from his tomb, you freed only his soul. Without a body, he lives a half life. We have reason to believe that he fled to the mainland in search of a host on which he can feed."
"Why not choose a host here?" Inuyasha asked. It was quite obvious, really. If Naraku was really as powerful as Sensei said, he would have no trouble in taking a body from one of the edgemasters, or even from a teacher. Plus, the demon was after him anyways, acquiring a body could be considered something to take care of "on the way."
"We have learned since the last time Naraku lived. Constant spells and enchantments work over the school to keep the evil out. Your brother, being so powerful, but also horribly brash, did a good job in sundering the spell to find an exit to the cliffs. However, the Masters had the spell up once again after all the students were ushered back into the school."
"But Naraku will be back?"
"As long as you reside here. We are surprised that he has even taken this long to find a suitable body. But then again, he has probably learned from his last experience on Earth," said Sensei gravely.
"Could he have broken the barrier on the school, though?" Inuyasha asked.
"Not without a body. That much is certain."
Inuyasha paused to take everything in, looking idly into his untouched teacup.
He hung his head.
"I'm sorry. I've put everybody in danger."
"You have. And that is why you must leave. But I do not hold you in contempt for it," the old man answered. "I admire your responsibility."
Inuyasha felt horrible that Sensei was saying that to him. What responsibility? How could he have let this happen?
"Will Miko be all right?"
"You care for her more than you admit." The old man smiled, the wrinkles on his face gathering up at the ends of his eyes. "I have no doubt she'll be fine. She's headstrong."
His reassurance helped a little bit. Inuyasha began to believe what he said.
"When…When do I leave?" he asked.
"As soon as possible. Those wounds of yours should be fine in a day or two."
"I'm surprised they didn't heal sooner," Inuyasha mentioned.
"Yes. You're used to that attribute in your demon blood. Those scars might heal, but there is little chance that they will disappear completely." Sensei drank more tea, and it seemed to have a calming affect.
"Also…Miko is coming with you."
"What!"
"Miko will be accompanying you on your journey."
"She…She can't!" protested Inuyasha, setting his teacup down with a clank and standing up furiously.
Sensei smiled up at him, seeming to be amused at Inuyasha's reaction. "She is."
"What? Why?" Inuyasha demanded.
"She insisted on going. She would go and follow you even if it meant going against my word," Sensei said, giving Inuyasha a rather unnerving stare, which made him sit down.
"That stupid girl. I'll change her mind!" Inuyasha said, once seated.
"I assure you, you wouldn't be able to. She insists on going."
"Why?"
"She would feel responsible if harm came upon you in any way. And if you do happen to encounter Naraku, harm would come upon you. In the worst possible ways."
"It…It isn't her business!" Inuyasha insisted.
"Why isn't her business?"
Inuyasha suddenly felt like getting upset at Sensei, sitting on the floor seeming so apathetic in front of him.
"Because…I got myself into this mess. It isn't her concern."
"She doesn't seem to think so," said Sensei. "Nothing you say, or I say, will change her mind."
Inuyasha stayed quiet, seeing that Sensei was probably right.
As he always was.
"You will probably get lonely on the road, anyhow," said the old man, smiling with what seemed to be a smug expression. "She will make a good companion. Especially for you. You fear her in danger, do you not?"
Inuyasha gritted his teeth.
"That means I'll have to go out of my way to protect her."
"As she would wholeheartedly do for you," countered Sensei. "Rest assured, your concern for each other will keep you both safe."
He laid his hand, large and comforting, on Inuyasha's shoulder, reaching across the small tea-serving table.
"Forgive her, Shijou," the man whispered softly. "And forgive yourself."
-
Miko applied more of the poultice in the night, not talking through the entire procedure. She had sensed that Inuyasha was slightly annoyed at her.
The next morning she peeled off the bandages, and Inuyasha's skin had healed so that they ceased to bleed.
But Inuyasha felt that Sensei was right. The scars would never fade fully.
Miko seemed to be thinking about the same thing as she disposed of the last of his bandages. Finally, she spoke.
"We're leaving today," she said simply.
"It took me long enough to heal," said Inuyasha, regretting it immediately. Miko cringed.
His recovery had been the work of her hands. That he wished that it happened faster conveyed the message that it was her fault that it hadn't.
"I feel so much better, though," he said, at an attempt to take his words back.
Miko smiled feebly. "We should get going. Sensei's probably waiting."
"Yeah," replied Inuyasha, standing up.
"Grab your sword," she said, beckoning to Tetsusaiga, leaning against the wall near the rolled up blankets where Inuyasha had slept.
He did, and then began walking for the door. He was out of the room already when he noticed that she wasn't following.
Inuyasha poked his head into the room. "Aren't you coming?"
Miko was staring up forlornly at the ceiling. "Yeah, I am. It's just…" She stared at Inuyasha for a while, then walked to the other side of the room to retrieve her bow and full quiver of arrows.
"I hate it when you trail off like that," Inuyasha said to her as she came to join him in the doorway. "Just what?"
She looked back at the room again. "It's just that…This is the last time I'll see this room, huh?" Gently, she touched the frame of the doorway, as if she'd be missing it.
"Humans. Too sentimental," said Inuyasha, scoffing.
"I suppose that's what makes us human," Miko replied, stepping out of the room and shutting the door softly.
-
Sensei and a few of the other masters had made the arrangements for Inuyasha and Miko's journey. Together, they gathered a large but relatively portable pack of foods treated with preservatives and several instruments to cook with. They would have to travel on foot; even if either of them knew how to ride horses, it attracted attention too easily.
The teachers also included a small sum of money, which was to be concealed. If thieves on the road knew that they carried any money at all, they would be attacked.
Especially because the two companions stuck out- it wasn't often that you'd see an inu-hanyou and a human priestess traveling together.
The money included the fare for the return to Onzhou by sea. The ship was coming in the high afternoon, which was quite fortunate timing on Inuyasha's part. Okinawa was on the outer rims of Japan's map, so it wasn't often that ships visited its shores.
The small amount of money in itself wouldn't last long. However, this is when Inuyasha learned that Sensei and the various instructors of the school had an intimate but widely-stretched network of liaisons and covert alliances. Master Herbal, for example, who was a shrine maiden before she was accepted to the school to become a teacher, had dozens of sister priestesses scattered over the Islands of Japan, ready to help at the mention of her name. In good faith, these connections would take care of and shelter Inuyasha and Miko.
Things were set to go with relatively optimistic outlooks, however, neither Inuyasha nor Miko had readily traveled across Japan.
After saying their goodbyes and farewells to the teachers, the two left the Seminary through the only proper exit, which also happened to be the only proper entrance.
It was the way through which Inuyasha could remember coming in so many months ago; through that unimpressive wooden door, guarded by an unimpressive-looking man in a sage's green robes.
When Inuyasha first came here, he had wanted to laugh at how small and bent over that old man was. But no more.
Things were different now.
The doorkeeper seemed more alert somehow; straighter, with better posture, to enable quicker reflexes.
The man smiled toothily as Inuyasha and Miko walked by, keeping his zanbatou in firm grip.
Miko was carrying the pack of food, and was having a difficult time balancing it on her back. At Inuyasha's offer, she stopped and set it down. He should have never let her try to carry it, in the first place.
It was effortless to Inuyasha, and together the two of them began walking towards the cave's mouth, so that they could walk down the planks in the cliffside to the dock.
Suddenly, a shout: "Shijou! Wait!"
The voice was Suzume's, who was their only mentionable friend throughout their time at Goshinboku.
And, apparently, she thought the same way, because she had come out to see them off. "I was afraid I wouldn't catch you before the ship came," she said, panting. She looked like she had just sprinted from her dormitory to where she now stood.
"You're in luck, then," said Inuyasha.
"I just wanted to say goodbye. You've been some of the best friends I've ever had here," she said, looking from Inuyasha to Miko.
It was the first time Inuyasha had seen her since that night, and yet, unlike Miko or Sensei, she looked relatively unchanged.
Miko beamed at Suzume's words. "It was short lived. We're sorry."
"I regret not being able to go with you," the girl said, smiling back.
"It's not a vacation, Suzume," said Inuyasha, slightly irked at the girl's words. It wasn't like they were setting out to see the world- They were setting out to run.
Suzume nodded, knowing his point. "I'm a bird. It's been so long since I've last seen my home. Goshinboku is my cage, and I wish to be free."
Inuyasha nodded. He could understand her words, though he didn't feel the same way.
"Before you go, I want to give you my name," said Suzume. "I almost think of you like the siblings I left at home. The ones I never got to grow up with. You have my trust. Know me now as Tentori."
"Tentori," murmured Miko softly, trying to get the sound familiar in her ears. "Goodbye, Tentori."
"Goodbye, Miko. I'll meet both of you again someday. And when I do, you'll both tell me your names."
"Hai," replied Miko.
"Something to look forward to. Until then. I'll pray for both of you."
"I think we'll need your prayers," said Miko, nodding. She hoisted her quiver of arrows onto her back.
"Yeah…" Suzume now turned to Inuyasha, looking at him with a solemn smile. "Watch out for her, Shijou."
He was a bit startled. "I will."
"I think I have my combat class starting in a few minutes," said Suzume, who looked like she was having difficulty keeping track of time.
"We don't want to keep you," said Miko. "Go on."
"Yeah…" Suzume said, her expression falling into a disappointed smile. "I'll be going."
With little more than a wave and a shout of "Sayonara!", Suzume ran back through the door which she had just come through.
Together the two continued walking down towards the dock, where they set their belongings down. They sat on the edge, courting a plunge into the sea, basking in the cool wet cliffside spray.
Miko took off her socks and sandals, setting them neatly next to her quiver of arrows, and rolled up her sleeves.
"Don't you feel relieved, somehow?" she asked Inuyasha.
"What do you mean?"
Miko shrugged, smiling down at her clear, turbulent reflection in the shallow water. "I feel free. Just like Suzume said."
"Free of what?"
Miko shrugged again, dangling her feet over the edge, while Inuyasha contemplated what she had mentioned before.
"I think I feel free of expectations more than anything," he answered, looking over at her.
"Expectations! That's what it is," said Miko, nodding vigorously.
"I felt like everybody was watching me back there," Inuyasha said, tossing a look over the Seminary entrance. "Like they were waiting for me to make a mistake."
"…And then when it looks like you won't make any, they expect you to beat everybody," Miko said, elaborating on Inuyasha's thoughts.
"They expect you to…But they don't want you to, at the same time."
Miko nodded at Inuyasha's words.
"Isn't it sad what a double standard can do to people?"
Inuyasha would have said yes, only if he knew what a double standard was.
"What's that?" he asked.
"It's hard to explain. In our example…When there's a human strong enough to defeat a demon, it's outrageous and unthinkable. And yet, when a demon defeats a human, it's considered nothing."
Inuyasha nodded.
"It's not a hard thing to understand, really," said Miko, looking at Inuyasha with a poignant smile. "Especially for people like us."
There was a large silence between them then, but it was not an awkward one. They both felt content with the other, and nothing more had to be said.
"Tentori…" she murmured suddenly, striking an absentminded tone. "What a pretty name."
"That's another thing," said Inuyasha. "Was the hiding of names really needed?"
"A name's concealment only tells you how useful it can be," said Miko matter-of-factly. "Or at least it's the way I see it. The reason why we don't do it anywhere else is because spells are usually cast on us the moment we are born to protect us from people who might use our name to bad purposes. It's like…a baptism. Goshinboku doesn't believe in that sort of protection. The Masters predict a flaw, that once discovered, will mean the end of everyone."
"I guess. Is it possible for someone who went here to break those spells?"
"I think it would depend on how strong the person is, and how strong the spell is. More elaborate spells are cast over nobility and heirs to thrones," answered Miko.
"That makes sense."
He balanced the sheath of Tetsusaiga on his cross-legged knees. For a moment, he thought, Wouldn't it be funny if this fell into the ocean?
A moment later, another part of him said, No, it wouldn't.
Miko promptly interrupted his musing.
"Hey…" said Miko, looking at Inuyasha thoughtfully, "Are you an heir?"
He looked back at her incredulously. "That's stupid. Do I look like an heir? Where'd you get that idea?"
Miko smiled and shrugged. "It was that time that Tatsugami called your brother 'Seishou of the Western Lands.' It got me thinking."
"Tatsugami called him that for a reason. He's the heir, stupid," said Inuyasha, looking out to sea.
Miko seemed satisfied with that answer, and again they sat in silence.
It was her that broke it once again.
"Don't you think it's sad?" she asked.
"I hate talking to you, you're always so vague," said Inuyasha, making an annoyed face.
"You didn't let me finish," said Miko disdainfully. "What I was going to say is that…Don't you think what Goshinboku Seminary does is a lost cause?"
"A lost cause? How?" he asked. If anything, it was not a lost cause. It trained hundreds of young people with potential into brilliant war strategists and fighters.
"Because. All anybody wants in the end is peace," said Miko simply. "Goshinboku works against that. It teaches the students to make war, when the truth is that nobody wants it."
"Maybe Goshinboku trains its students to end wars," Inuyasha pointed out.
"Not true. It trains people from all cardinal directions, people who are constantly at war with each other. It turns friends here into hated enemies in adulthood."
"Don't you think…" started Inuyasha, "That since this place is where the kids spend half of their childhoods, they're loyal to their friends?"
"It's because they spend half of their childhoods here that they're so loyal to their people. They have nothing left, really, so they're desperate to prove themselves worthy in front of their families," said Miko thoughtfully.
Inuyasha could think of plenty of examples, where the students were always talking about home, where the students held pride in the accents unique to their villages.
"Blood's thicker than water, don't you think?" she asked.
"I can think of one exception," Inuyasha said, smiling.
"I don't doubt it, Inuyasha," answered Miko, pulling her legs up onto the surface of the dock, pulling her knees to her chest.
He turned to her. "It's weird you call me that now, y'know."
"Really? You mean 'Shijou' has grown on you?" she asked.
"It just takes a while to get used to."
"But you're alright if I call you by your real name."
"I don't give a damn, really."
"Inuyasha it is."
"Hey," he said, also withdrawing from the edge of the dock, "How come I don't know your name?"
Miko looked surprised, but then her eyes lit up. "Well- I don't know. Of course, I couldn't tell you while we were up in the school. I always meant to tell you afterwards, though."
Inuyasha sat waiting, boredom deriving from idleness. "So? What is it?"
"I'm Kagome. What's your name?" Kagome gave Inuyasha a childish, ingenuous smile.
It was a two-year-old's game she was playing, really.
He held a quizzical face. "I'm Inuyasha," he said uneasily.
"Nice to meet you, Inuyasha," she said, extending a hand.
Surprised at himself, he shook it, and smiled.
-
A/N: -sighs- So there's that chapter, which longer than I thought it would be. But mostly it was the characters talking.
Like Suzume's real name? Strange, huh, how I introduce them later. I think Tentori is a pretty name, just like Suzume. "Tentori" means "heaven bird" in Japanese. I liked Suzume; it's a pity that we won't see her for a while. But she'll appear again in one of the later installments of the Chronicles of Goshinboku.
Like Miko's real name? It almost killed me, seriously, not being able to use "Kagome" for such a long time. Of course, I messed up a few times and used it anyways. Kudos to those who pointed it out for me! I would have grown gray hairs perusing through the fanfiction to try and find them. Of course, I only discovered the "Find" tool on Microsoft Word.
Some people asked why I couldn't use Kagome's name if I could use Inuyasha's. Well, the reason is that this story is told mainly through his point of view, even if it isn't in first person perspective. The limited third person is very useful sometimes, as it can relate the reader to what the characters are feeling without becoming a boring narrative. In other words, the words are written as Inuyasha would interpret. Did he know Kagome's name before? No. So I didn't use it. Also, even after he knew Suzume's real name, I referred to her as Suzume still because that is what he knew her as.
Loyal reviewers, don't disappear! -terminator voice-
I'll be back. -walks away, robot-like-
Alohaturtle