After the Battle
Chapter 11: What if?
Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine. If you keep reminding me my pride will be injured, you mean- head!
Kei sat nervously on the hard ground, surrounded by young women dressed in the unearthly manner of these times. The little girl who had seen her earlier that day was sitting contently next to her mother. They had arrived back in the ramshackle village about half an hour ago after about an hour long walk through the foliage. The sky was devoid of all light. Even the stars were covered by the dark storm clouds that loomed on the horizon, promising late night rain. The women were oddly quiet. The surreal silence was only broken by the occasional breeze and the crackling of a fire that blazed just to the left of the circle.
They had been sitting in this silence for what seemed like ages when the woman who found her finally spoke.
"You appear familiar. Who are you?" Her voice her voice cut through the blanketing silence like pointed dagger, and her voice had an unreal echo to it.
"I'm Kei..." She stuttered, finally finding her voice. She looked up into the woman's steely eyes and shuddered inwardly. Her face was vacant of all emotion and her expression was almost inhuman. Quite frankly, it gave Kei the chills.
The women began to mumble to each other behind their hands, but stopped when the emotionless one directed a rather fierce glare around the circle.
"I've never heard of you, but I've seen your face. You remind me of a woman who I haven't seen for some time... Kagome."
Inuyasha slowed down to a walk, well aware now of what day it was. His demon powers had almost completely left him. The only thing left of his demon side was streaks of silver in his now charcoal hair. He cursed his stupidity silently. Now on top of being a jerk to Kagome and a horrible father to their daughter he was hopelessly lost and confused. The forest was beginning to close in on him, and a childhood fear slowly began to return...
flashback
Inuyasha was in the dark, sobbing quietly. He was bruised and bleeding, the scent of distress filling the spot where he lay. The night was one of the darkest he had ever experienced and the effect was smothering. Suddenly, a voice rang out from the formidable blackness.
"Hey Inuyasha are you trying to hide from us? You can't hide, you little half-demon scum!" A wicked sounding chorus of laughter echoed from around him, and his bottom lip began to quiver.
"Mommy! Help me!" He called in vain as the older boys surrounded him and started beating him again...
end flashback
Kagome sat awake in her bedroll, staring at the evening sky. She couldn't sleep, which was obvious. Her daughter and the love of her life were out in the forest somewhere, and who knew how much things had changed since she had been back here the last time. Actually, she did know what had changed... everything. Even Inuyasha, the one she had trusted to be the same person wasn't unchanged. He looked pretty much the same, but everything that mattered about him was different. The way he held her close seemed almost anxious and the way he spoke was always gruff and unfriendly. After his outburst with Kei she had come to understand his worry better, but it was still puzzling. She sighed, listening to Sango and Miroku's light breathing, the only other sound in the peaceful night. She dearly wished that Inuyasha was asleep next to her and everything would be back to as it had been. Kagome cried as she remembered her stupid choice to leave and never come back. Before, she thought she was being brave, but she was really running from her sorrow. She cursed herself for not being able to figure that out sooner when it actually could have made a difference.
She could have happily raised her daughter with Inuyasha in his time instead of having to go through the next 9 months of her life living in shame. Her family never knew who the father was, and the rest of her high school experience was spent with rumors flying behind her back. She didn't even get to go to prom. That was the night Kei was born. She rolled over, wiping a tear from her eye. If only things could have been different...
Kei met the woman's gaze awkwardly. How did she know of her mother? Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell her of their relation now. What if she had something against her mother? Kei was becoming more wary of this time period thanks to the stories about Naraku.
"I've never heard of her..." lied Kei nervously. The woman's eyes flickered with disgust and she frowned upon her.
"Don't lie to me. You are her daughter. I was watching you with her earlier." She said, her cold eyes narrowing.
"Lay off her, Keki." said a woman sternly from a dark corner. She stepped out, also dressed in priestess robes.
"I'm sorry mother." She said, bowing before the rather young looking woman. She didn't look quite old enough to be her mother, unless she was a product of the woman's late teen years. The woman named Keki backed off and sat timidly on the floor as her mother began to speak.
"Kei, I am the priestess Kikyou. I am aware of who your father is. Some people may say that I owe him a great debt for what he did for me, but I think that was a good exchange for everything I've done for him. In other words, we're completely even. Does that make sense to you?" Kei nodded slowly. Was this woman really Kikyou, Inuyasha's past love? She bore an uncanny resemblance to her mother Kei noted as she studied her once again. What she was saying wasn't really making much sense, but maybe it was custom for people to talk like this...
"Because I owe him nothing, I don't think I have to take the time out of my life to help him find you. I never liked that Kagome anyway... why should I help her?" She laughed slowly, and then turned to face Kei. "What do you say to that, my dear?"
Kei's eyes widened as Kikyou's words sank in. What was wrong with this woman?
"What are you going to do with me? I haven't done anything wrong!" She said in a braver tone then she felt. At that, Kikyou smirked.
"For starters, you are in my village. You were found wandering among the sacred herbs. I think that's enough to be permanently banished from existence, do you not?"
A/N: Whoa! What will Kikyou do? Review and I might tell you! I can't believe I wrote Kikyou in being a bitch! That really hurt me. I love Kikyou.
Review, my pretties!