Part 9
Was it all a dream? She turned slightly and nearly cried out as a shock of pain pierced through her body. Guess not...
Kagome bundled the blankets around her as a slight breeze brushed against her bare skin. She wanted to sleep the day away, but her excitement wouldn't let her. She was aware of the orb that she held in her hand and its peaceful warmth. She couldn't help but feel excited about what was ahead of her now.
How would all of this play out? Would they let her go just like that? Or would they hang her for her..."crimes?" Kagome was so sure that this was the Shikon no Tama, but she couldn't help but feel that it seemed to be missing something. Something important; essential to the jewel's power.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly. It seemed that her wound had healed somewhat and had at least stopped bleeding. But it still hurt. Even now. It seemed to pulse, like she had remembered the jewel had pulsed.
Kagome cut the knot with her claws and unwrapped the tourniquet. As she peeled off the layers, the blood on the bandage got darker and darker until it was completely soaked with blood. As she came to the last layer, and removed it, she was appalled at what she saw.
Immediately, she shredded another towel and re-bandaged her wound. She walked out of the bathroom, towel shreds on the floor, slightly shocked. What! How... Slowly, she shook it off and shuffled around her room, putting on similar clothes as she had the day before.
Kagome looked herself over in the mirror. She wore black breeches and a white shirt. She decided to wear a red kimono, seeing as it hid her undergarments well. With red, leather shoes to match, she walked out of her room. But, as she neared the door, she looked back upon her room. It was a mess. Her sheets and bedding were a mess and wrinkled. The book lay on the floor carelessly, her sword near it. Scraps of the towel she had torn were scattered on the floor. Her balcony door open, carelessly.
Kagome only smiled at herself and her handiwork. She was still part of a teenager at heart. She turned around and began to clean her mess. Fluffing her pillows, straightening out the sheets, and placing her blanket nicely over them all. She picked up the towel shreds and dumped them in her trash can. She picked up the sword and the book, her vision switching from one to the other, thinking. What happened last night? What is this book? And, why was my sword reacting to it?
She gingerly placed each side-by-side on her straightened bed sheets and inspected her bathroom. Blood seemed to have dripped on the tile, and spilled over the counter. She looked into the pitcher of water and found that it was a light red also. Kagome only sighed and picked up her discarded bloody, old bandages and began to wipe off all of the blood that had been left there since last night.
It didn't come off as easy as she thought it would have from the smooth tile. It had dried overnight and was coming off very slowly. At least it doesn't leave a stain. Kagome thought thankfully.
In a few minutes she had the bathroom looking like nothing had ever happened, except for the red water and cloth. She thought and thought how she would be able to get these cleaned up before anyone noticed. There was no way around it. Eventually someone would find out one way or another. If she took it out of her room to dump it the castle was big enough to cause a..."coincidence."
Kagome thought and thought. She found a solution to get rid of the water, but...how would she get rid of the towel? First things first. she concluded. She walked into her bathroom, grabbed the basin of bloody water, walked onto her balcony, and emptied the whole thing over. She could only hope that the water would have already soaked into the ground before anyone noticed it was wet.
She gazed out at the horizon. Orange and purple were painted across the sky as the sun began to peek through the clouds. There was a cool morning mist hanging in the air. The "backyard" made her want to stay there, leaning on the rail, and gazing out into the endless, lush grass. But, she needed to figure out a way to get rid of the towel.
She went back inside and placed the now empty basin on the counter once again. Kagome closed the bathroom door behind her and plopped down on her bed. How...how can I make it disappear?... Her eyes wandered around the room endlessly, until they landed on the hearth. Perfect.
Kagome grabbed the towel and began to shred it up into tiny bits. Then, she envisioned fire and all of its burning beauty as she closed her eyes. She felt that same power flow through her that she had felt so many times before. The power that was called up from the earth itself. The power that warmed the soul.
"Fire," she whispered.
She cupped her hands together and a ball of flame ignited itself in her palms. She stuck her hands into the hearth and placed the flame tenderly on the shredded towel places. It was set ablaze immediately, and Kagome pulled her hands back. The flickering flames seemed to entrance her, alighting her features.
Slowly she withdrew the Shikon no Tama that she had placed in her pocket earlier. She gazed upon its glimmering surface, reflecting the dancing flames. Her thoughts wandered to all those years of power-training that she had gone through with Matsuru. She had learned to summon the elements at will, fought like no other, and use magic.
She thought even deeper as she gazed into the jewel that she held in her hand, that maybe, just maybe, the powers she had really called upon were the powers of each of the four elemental souls that had come from this one. Fire. Wind. Water.Earth. All the elements as one.
The fire was dying slowly, melting into heated ash. She stood, pocketing the jewel, putting her thoughts aside. She walked back to the door, this time not looking back at her room.
Kagome reached the door and turned the knob. Walking out, she closed it behind her and paced to the dining room. As she opened the huge double doors, the same scene that she had witnessed greeted her. Inutaisho, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Matsuru were, seemingly, waiting for her in their same placements.
Hesitantly, she walked toward them. Kagome had thought earlier about telling them immediately or just holding it off that she had the Shikon no Tama. She had decided to hold it off for a while. She wanted to know everything they knew first. Everything.
Just the same, Inutaisho stood and slid out her chair for her. Then, once she sat he returned to his seat. She could only wonder if they had sensed the events that had taken place the previous night.
The breakfast had already been set out, and she was assured that everything had been tested first before being served, personally overseen by Inutaisho. Kagome couldn't help but feel a little assured and began to eat. She was wary upon the silence that had greeted her. No one talked. Only the sound of the clatter of silverware could be heard as the breakfast was consumed.
Kagome had not expected Rin and the others to get up this early, for it had been a while the morning previous, before they had arrived, so she expected there to be some "secretive time" before they were disturbed.
Inutaisho had finished his meal and wiped his mouth clean. He cleared his throat and said, "We need to gather some supplies from town before we set out. Kagome, you will be going with Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Miroku to gather these supplies. Your companions may come if they wish. You also may purchase anything you need for the journey. I am guessing that you have not yet informed your comrades of this journey yet?"
Kagome shook her head in answer, and as if expected, Inutaisho continued, "You will have time on your travel to town then. Passing through the Forbidden Forest is quite secluded enough to discuss such things."
And as if on cue, the four men stood as Inutaisho announced that they would discuss the supplies needed. Kagome was told that she would be informed when they would take their leave, so she was given some leisure time.
They had all exited the dining room, the door clicking behind them. Kagome sat in the silence of a finished meal and empty hall. It was somewhat too spacious for her liking, but she dealt with it.
Nothing but silence surrounded her, and she didn't like the fact that no one had said anything to her while they had eaten. It bothered her for the time, until Kagome heard the doors open a second time.
Kagome stood from her chair, not quite turning around until she could put a smile on her face. And when she did, Rin came running into Kagome's arms for a big hug.
"Good morning, Kagome-chan," Rin yelled happily.
She immediately jumped into the empty chair next to Kagome's, which just so happened to be Inutaisho's. Kagome made no move to scold Rin off the chair, but merely awaited Sango's, Shiru's, and Rei's arrival.
Each greeted a "Good Morning" and took their seats. Kagome only stared at her empty plate in silence. Everyone seemed silent today. Even Rin. Why was that? She could only wonder.
The silence pressured in on her, leaving her thoughts to race through her mind. Did I do something wrong? Did I make them upset?
She could only soak in her agony. She needed to say something. Something! Then, she decided to brief them on their journey.
Kagome cleared her throat.
"Um, guys...I'm sorry I didn't get your opinions before I agreed to this, but...um...we're going to look for the Shikon no Tama."
There was a slight pause of complete silence. Then, Sango placed down her fork and patted at her mouth with a napkin.
"We heard," was her simple answer.
Kagome couldn't help but be a little nervous on her next answer.
"Well, today we are going into town to get some supplies," she replied hesitantly.
This time, Shiru answered. "So?"
Kagome felt slightly whipped. All though they didn't show it, they were snapping at her like crazy. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt.
"Well...do you guys want to come?"
Another pause of silence. This time it was really pressuring her that she wanted to scream. She wanted the silence to go away. She wanted a crowd of people surrounding her, trying to talk all at once. Over the years she got to learn to hate silence. And it continued when no answer came.
"I guess that's a 'no,'" she whispered softly.
She stood, the screeching of her chair on the tile breaking the silence momentarily. Her quite footsteps couldn't break the silence for she was accustomed to being silent herself. How ironic. she thought bitterly to herself. She hated silence, yet she was the silent type.
Kagome closed the door behind her quietly and walked away. She was too bored to be depressed. Then again, she had nothing to do either. She decided to explore the castle but figured that it was so huge that she would get lost. Then, an idea struck her. The garden.
She had vaguely remembered seeing garden near the huge pond. Although, it seemed like more of an outdoor greenhouse. So, she decided to go to the garden. Luckily, her location of the doors were very good and she found it in only a couple of seconds.
It was a white door. Not very spectacular, yet it held amagical feeling to it. Slowly, she reached for the golden doorknob and turned it.She pulled the door open hesitantly. A fresh breeze swept passed her, calming her immediately. It smelled of fresh flowers and morning dew. When she stepped over the threshold it was almost like she had stepped into an entirely different dimension. It didn't have the big, glorious, expensive, trapped feeling like the castle had, but a relaxed, fresh, new, wideopen feeling. Like you were reborn into a clean world. A world with no hate. No fear. No violence. Just... Peace.
Kagome removed her shoes and put it in the castle near the door's threshold. Then, she silently closed the door. Lately, she had been noticing that doors opened and closed left and right. Her bedroom door. Her bathroom door. Her balcony door. The diningroom door. And now the garden door. I guess I'm making up for the doors that I could never close on the run. she thought to herself happily.
Her first bare foot stepped onto the grass. Its instant gentleness against her feet was refreshing. She took in a deep breath and the flowery smell rushed in. Her head was clear. She was at peace with herself. She felt like she didn't want to leave this place. She wanted to stay here forever.
Kagome couldn't remember when she felt this peaceful before. She continued to walk on the lush grass until she came to a flower. It was not a special flower, yet it wasn't plain. Each of the five petals were half blue and half white. Leaning down to pick it, she noticed the intricate design upon it. Little swirls of blue and white could be seen joining the two colors together. It was the most amazing flower she had ever seen...next to the Lunar flower.
The Lunar flower was a legendary flower that only bloomed at night. The design on its delicate, rose-type petals were said to reflect the night sky, having sparkling, star-shaped imprints on a black colored background. It could not be easily created and was very rare. There were only a few seeds in the world, and most thought it too precious to plant; a waist to only see it once.
Kagome breathed in its scent. It cleared her mind of all her thoughts and feelings. It gave her the feeling...well, she didn't feel anything at all. Not her body, not her feelings. Nothing. But, it only lasted a moment before all of her feelings rushed back to her. Her mind raced past memories of her past and more. It was almost a complete autobiography about her...well, what she could remember, of course. Her babyhood drew a complete blank. Everything that came to her mother was unknown to her. She couldn't remember her mother's face. Her mother's voice. Nothing.
Kagome only smiled sadly to herself, like always when she thought of her mother. She tucked the flower into her hair and spread her arms out wide, soaking in the sun and delectable breeze. She was completely filled with happiness and joy. All of her previous problems were drained. She felt...cleared. Like a slate being washed all over again.
Her arms flopped back down to her side as she walked with a bounce in her step toward the pond. She decided to go and see the garden later.
Kagome neared the tree, and she was nearly captured by its image. The wisteria's long vines swayed lazily with the wind as its falling petals caused ripples in the pond. It was almost leaning over the pond, as if it were to be weeping into it.
She sat on the bank of the pond, under the shade of the tree, her feet soaking in the cool water. She picked at the small flowers surrounding her, sending them all into the wind. Here, Kagome felt whole. One with the earth. She couldn't explain why, but she just did.
Unconsciously, she withdrew the Shikon no Tama, examining it carefully. As she held it, she noticed that itdidn't feel..."whole." What that meant, she had no clue. But for some reason or another the jewel didn't feel complete. Like it was...missing some parts of itself. How fitting. she thought bitterly.
Seeing as that the Shikon no Tama was within her, and that she wasn't complete herself was an ironically similar feature that she didn't like one bit.
Gently, she tucked the jewel back into her pocket and gazed out at the serene lake. Out of all her years she would have never thought to be under such conditions with her enemy. Not in a thousand years. They let her run around in their palace like some guest and not a prisoner.
Kagome turned her head to look up at the castle. It had that fairytale feeling on the outside. The ones that she could remember when she was told a bedtime story. The ones the princess lived in and were swept away by a prince and "lived happily ever after."
She scoffed. She would never have such an ending. Never.
Her eyes wandered along every crevice and curve of the outer wall until they gazed upon a window. It was a clear, elegant window that she could see into. She could see a figure, staring down. But where? And who was that?
Kagome squinted her eyes and looked hard at the figure's face. A glint of gold shimmered. It was him. That one man that was a complete irritation whenever he smirked. Sesshomaru... she thought angrily.
Quickly, she looked away, seeming not to notice him, mostly trying to hide the blush that had crept upon her face. Kagome could all but feel the smirk that probably had crept upon his lips. Then, she realized something. Why, when it came to Sesshomaru, did she act like this? Like a child? Like a little girl who was merely being teased by a boy? Why did Sesshomaru seem to have this effect on her?
She shook her head violently, her thoughts clearing once again. All she needed now was...peace...
I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! I'LL TRY TO UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER SOONER OKAY! Oh...the next chapter is when they go to the market place. Some...interesting situations may happen, I just need to...plan how they will happen. It doesn't take me very long to do that because I already know what and how I want this story to end, so...c u all next time!
15 reviews to update