-Sigh-
And so my story gets incredibly confusing. Ok, now I went back and fixed every little detail surronding this finicky prophecy.
It's caused so many troubles for me, I almost considered getting rid of it but I really do like it a lot. I think I have managed to find every
plot glitch surronding it, but if you happen to notice one, please contact me. godessofthelightathotmaildotcom or xkellaix on AIM.
Thanks.
Chapter 11 - The Prophecy
Kagome stretched her arms and quietly walked down the stairs. She rubbed her eyes as she walked into the kitchen. She looked at the clock. It read 11:45.
Wow! I sure slept in long, she thought. Everyone else was still asleep.
She strolled over to the message machine. It said there was one new message. She pressed play and walked over pour herself a cup of orange juice.
"Hi, I just wanted to leave you a message in case you're home, Kagome!" It was her mother's voice, "It turns out that I'll have to stay a little longer at the hospital. Souta should be home sometime in the afternoon. I should be home early afternoon. I have my cell phone, so if you're home just give me a call. Bye!"
Kagome was resting her head on the table, her eyes closed, when she thought of Inuyasha. She remembered the night before and felt her stomach drop. She had been overcome with so many feelings that she had said things she didn't mean. She felt bad for being so stupid.
She knew he didn't hate her. It had been a stupid fight and she wanted to apologize for overreacting. The doubts that had been hiding in the back of her mind had slowly crept forward and overwhelmed her.
She smiled to herself and thought, I know he loves me. I guess I'm just under a lot of stress, she thought. What with Naraku and the baby…
'He's under a lot of stress to!' Screamed her conscience.
She stood up and decided she would get dressed before seeking Inuyasha. She made her way back up the stairs and silently crept into her room. She walked over and picked some clothes out of her dresser and walked back to the door. She peeked over at Sango, who was sleeping peacefully on her bed. Kirara was curled up near her feet with Shippo. She left the room and walked into the bathroom.
After she had changed and freshened up she checked the other rooms on the upper floor and found no sign of the hanyou anywhere. She checked the living room, where he was supposed to have been, in case he didn't hear her in the kitchen earlier. But he wasn't there either.
Disappointed, she walked back into the kitchen and pulled out a chair and sat down, greeting Sango.
"Ah, ohayo Kagome-chan!" She said, petting Kirara, who was sitting in her lap.
"Ohayo Sango-chan. And good morning to you too, Kirara!" Kagome added, noticing the fire neko. Kirara glanced up at her and meowed in reply. Looking back up at Sango, she asked, "So…How did you sleep?"
"Very well! That bed of yours is quite comfortable!"
Kagome nodded her head and explained, "That's probably because it's not made from straw. You'll find most things in my time will be hard to get used to but well worth it."
She nodded, and then asked, "Where's Inuyasha? I thought he'd be with you…" She noticed Kagome's troubled look. "Is something wrong?"
Kagome looked up at the ceiling, staring blankly. "We had a fight last night..." She looked back down at Sango and continued, "It wasn't any big deal, but I want to apologize. I just cant find him." She stared at the wall behind Sango. "I checked the whole house…"
Then a sudden idea hit Sango. She said, "He's probably outside!"
Kagome's face broke into a smile. "Of course! I'm going to go out there and find him right now." She stood up and Kirara hopped off Sango's lap. She began sniffing the ground and meowed to Kagome, trying to get her attention.
"Yes?" She asked, bending down to look at Kirara. The cat motioned with her head for Kagome to follow her.
"You want me to follow you?" The neko youkai meowed again, sniffing the ground once more.
"I think she's going to find Inuyasha by his scent." Sango resolved.
Kagome nodded and told Kirara, "Lead the way."
Sango stayed seated, and winked. "Good luck!" She whispered.
Kagome followed Kirara outside, into her backyard, all the way to the well house.
"He's in here?" She asked, puzzled. Kirara meowed again and Kagome slid the door open.
Her stomach dropped as she looked inside.
He wasn't there.
"Kirara…he's not here." She told the fire neko. The cat meowed and hopped down to the well.
"No… He wouldn't." She whispered. She rushed to the well and looked over the side. Turning her gaze to Kirara she asked, "Are you sure?" The cat sniffed the ground, just to be sure, then looked up at Kagome and meowed.
Kagome turned away from the well and looked at the ground. Her eyes swelled with tears as she noticed something lying on the ground. She must of missed it, in her rush to get to the well. She bent down and picked it up.
It was the locket. The one with the pictures from the photo booth. He'd kept it since their defeat of Kaguya. So why would he leave it here? Unless…
Kagome grabbed the locket and shoved it in her pocket and hopped over the well. She closed her eyes and waited to cross times. She felt her feet connect with the ground. But when she looked up, she wasn't staring at the clear blue sky of feudal Japan. All she saw was the ceiling of the well house. Her hand immediately went to her chest, searching for the jewel. When she found it she began to get nervous.
Why didn't it work! She wondered
But then it hit her.
No Inuyasha, the locket, not being able to pass through the well. It made sense now. Inuyasha had left, presumably to go after Naraku, the locket was his goodbye, and he'd sealed the well, rendering it useless to Naraku or Kagome.
She fell to her knees, her hands digging at the dirt.
I'll get through! I know it! But doubt pressed at the back of her mind.
"I'll get through!" She cried, as if voicing it out loud would help. After what seemed an eternity of useless digging, she slumped against the wall, crying.
"How could you!" She punched her fist against the ground in anger. "You idiot! You jerk!"
Her anger quickly turned to sorrow. She held her head in her hands and asked, "Why?" Her voice echoed in the well, causing Kagome to sob even harder.
"Kagome-chan?" Called Sango.
"Kagome-sama!" Came Miroku's voice.
She looked up and saw her two friends faces peering down at her. She sniffled and looked up, her eyes filled with tears.
"H-Hai?" She answered, her voice cracking.
"What's wrong?" Asked Sango, noticing Kagome's state. She hopped over the side of the well and landed swiftly at the bottom. She held her hand out, offering to help Kagome up. Kagome took her hand and allowed herself to be pulled up.
Once she was upright, she began to cry again.
"Kagome-chan! What happened? Why are you crying?" Sango grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look up at her. Her tone became softer as she asked again, "What happened?"
Kagome's eyes had a glazed look about them, and she couldn't seem to focus on anything. She just stared at the wall.
After a few seconds, she seemed to snap. Her words came out very fast.
"H-he's gone.. T-the wells s-sealed! The l-locket! H-he went a-after Naraku!" She sobbed harder and leaned against Sango, crying into her shoulder.
Sango hugged her back and murmured, "It'll be ok. Just try and tell me that one more time, slower… ok?" Kagome nodded, brushing the tears out of her eyes.
"Inuyasha…h-he's…h-he's gone. He l-left to go a-after Naraku…He -sniff- left the locket… And w-when I tried -hiccup- t-to go through the w-well… He m-must've -sniffle- sealed i-it!" Sango nodded sadly and looked up at Miroku. He gave her one of the miserable looks she had ever seen.
After a bit of coaxing, Sango finally got Kagome out of the well. Kagome later found out that Kirara had ran inside, after seeing Kagome jump into to the well, to get Sango and Miroku. The three walked back to her house and sat down at the kitchen table. Shippo was waiting inside. He had just woken up and wondered where everyone had went.
Kagome sat at the table, still crying, while Miroku and Sango tried to hypothesize what Inuyasha had done.
"But why would he seal the well?" Asked Shippo, who was attempting to console Kagome.
"I would think the answer quite obvious, Shippo." Miroku said, his eyebrows raised in a thoughtful manner. "The real question is how he sealed it. But the reason he did was so Naraku cannot get through, placing Kagome out of harms way. I suppose he also did not want Kagome going after him." Kagome cried harder, after Miroku said this.
"Wait a sec!" Exclaimed Shippo, hopping off Kagome's shoulder and onto the table. "That means…That means we're stuck here!"
There was a sudden, uncomfortable silence. Even Kagome had stopped crying. She looked up and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She sniffled once and in turn looked, at all three of her friends.
"N-not to sound harsh…" She started, "But it's not as though… you really have any blood relatives there anymore…" She trailed off, waiting for someone to get angry at her for the comment. But what Miroku said next surprised her.
"Maybe…Maybe that was Inuyasha's plan all along." He looked up and added, "It makes sense. He was the one who came up with the idea of bringing us all here. The only other acquaintance I have there is Hacchi. Shippo's family were already deceased. And since Kohaku passed away…" He mumbled.
Kohaku had willingly given his life up. No longer under Naraku's spell, he had allowed Kikyo to take the shard from his back, killing. He had known of Kikyo's plan to have Naraku defile the jewel and then for her to purify it and him. So Kohaku had died in the hopes that Naraku would be destroyed and his village and family avenged.
But really, he had died for nothing.
"You're right! Before we came he seemed to really want to make sure that we would protect you…" Sango looked at Kagome. "I think he'd decided he was going to do this long before yesterday."
"But why did he have to leave like that?" She whispered, willing her self not to start crying again, because if she did she knew she wouldn't be able to stop this time. "He didn't even give me a chance to apologize or say goodbye…"
"Because he cares." Sango murmured. "If he'd delayed longer it would have broke his heart to leave. And yours."
Kagome's mind was filled with emotions, but something was really bothering her.
What if he never comes back?
Kagome opened her mouth to voice her concern, when she heard a commotion coming from the front door.
"Souta, be a dear and hold the door for me." She heard her mother's voice.
"Hai, mama." Souta answered.
Kagome stood up and walked to the door, telling her friends to stay here.
"Mama!" She cried. The sight of her mother made her want to cry again. She ran up and hugged her.
"Kagome… Hello… I didn't think you'd be home so soon. Is something wrong?"
"Oh mama…" Her mother dropped the bags she was holding and led Kagome into the kitchen where she was stunned to see three very strange people sitting.
Souta gasped, and her mother said, "I think you should explain Kagome."
------
After about a few minutes of introductions, Souta took Shippo into the living room to show him the television and Nintendo. Souta had been very fascinated Shippo's tail.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Kagome had just finished explaining what had happened the past few days.
Kagome's mother, who was standing at the counter chopping up some vegetables and adding them to a pot, that was boiling water over the stove, listened quietly. She seemed to be taking it all very well. Considering who was sitting at her kitchen table and would be living in her house for the next… Well for as long as it took for Inuyasha to come back.
When Kagome finished talking her mother said, "But, there's still one thing. You mentioned something about a prophecy…"
"The prophecy!" Miroku exclaimed. "I completely forgot! I was going to tell you all, but then Kagome was attacked," (Kagome's mother gasped, still not completely used to this type of thing.) "And we came here. I was planning on revealing my knowledge today, but then…"
Kagome nodded and said, "Tell us everything you know."
Miroku put his hands together and looked down, very solemnly.
"Just after I had left home and became a travelling monk, in search of Naraku, I began hearing strange rumours…"
I was journeying to the south and had stopped at an inn for the night. I was talking with the inn keeper asking him questions about the area. We got talking particularly late into the night and by then we had both had a few mugs of sake. His tongue was pretty loose now so I decided to see what information I could get out of him…
"Naraku?" He repeated, "Never -hiccup- heard of him…"
Frustrated, I stood up about to retire to my room for the night, when he began to speak again.
"W-wait…-hiccup- I, uh, I think I might know something." He said, his voice bubbly and animated. Not quite how I would've expected to talk about Naraku. I turned around and waited for him to begin speaking again.
"I think -hiccup- I don't know if it -hiccup- interests you… There's a scroll -hiccup- supposedly tells the hiccup path to destroy the -hiccup- evil one. Who ever that is!" He laughed.
"What scroll!" I exclaimed.
"Ya know, -hiccup- I think.." He paused and squinted his eyes, as if trying to remember. "Yup… It's rumoured to be -hiccup- in possession of some priestess… Don't remember her -hiccup- name."
I nodded, disappointment again. I went to bed and lay awake trying to think of what to do. There were far too many priestesses to track in this land. I decided I would continue on my journey, searching for Naraku, by rumours and sightings. I also decided I would ask every priestess I met, about Naraku and the scroll…
"Ok, but I remember Kaede-obaa-chan telling me and…" Kagome paused, not wanting to be reminded of him, "Telling us, that she had given a scroll containing the prophecy to someone. But we don't even know if this is the same scroll we're talking about."
"True, and if it is, then why did you never ask Kaede-sama for it, houshi-sama?" Sango added.
"By the time I had met Kaede-sama, I had completely forgotten about the scroll. I was pursuing Naraku with Kagome-sama and Inuyasha. It wasn't until about days after Inuyasha had left, when Sango, Shippo and I were staying in the village."
"Kaede-sama told me to take Sango and Shippo and leave the village. She also gave me a piece of parchment and told me to guard it with my life and try uncover it's mystery. I tried to question her, but she didn't know anymore than it had been given to her shortly after Kikyo-sama had passed on.
She knew that her sister had tried to read it, though she didn't know if Kikyo-sama had been successful. She was told to uncover it's mystery but couldn't so she handed it on to me, in the hopes that I could. I think she might have known of it's importance and she possibly foresaw the destruction of her village…"
"But… Is it… Is it the prophecy? Do you have it?" Kagome asked quickly.
Miroku reached into his robes and pulled out an ancient looking piece of paper. He placed it on and table and pushed it towards Kagome.
"I only just realized that it must be the parchment in which I had devoted so much of my time to tracking down. And when Inuyasha told me of the prophecy I remembered this… so it must be it. This is the prophecy!" He said, excitedly.
"But…If you couldn't read it… and Kaede-obaa-chan couldn't read it … How can I even hope to…?" She asked, not expecting an answer.
"I thought about that too." Miroku told her. "Inuyasha mentioned that Naraku was the one who informed you of the prophecy… Somehow he found out about it… Kagome-sama pick it up."
Kagome bit her lip, hesitantly.
Why do they think? That I'll be able to read it?
She looked around at her friends. Both smiled back at her told her to try. She looked at her mother who nodded in agreement. Fine! I will!
Her hand was shaking as she picked it up off the table.
This is it… She thought.
She to unravelled it and as she looked up at the top of the paper, to her amazement, words appeared as if someone were writing them
Follow the steps and you will find,
A way to see into the dark one's mind.
Only the chosen one possesses the power,
To shed light in the world's darkest hour.
"I…I don't understand…" She thought aloud, her eyes wide in amazement.
"Nani?" Questioned Miroku.
"Words…" She began, her voice quivering. "T-There are words!"
Sango stood up and walked behind Kagome, surveying the paper.
"Kagome-chan…I don't see anything." Sango told her.
Kagome looked again to make sure the words were still there. Why cant she see them? She wondered.
"But Sango-chan…They're right there!" She said pointing at them.
"I don't see anything…"
I must be the only one able to see them…
"Never mind that Sango… Read the words Kagome-sama." Miroku instructed.
"H-hai…" She said. She slowly began to repeat the words, as Sango sat back down. Miroku listened, his eyes closed in concentration. Her mother threw the last vegetables in the pot and sat down at the table.
After she had finished reading, Miroku said, "Dark one? It must be referring to Naraku."
"But when was this written? How could they have known of Naraku? He wasn't even Naraku yet. He would still have been Onigumo… Or maybe he wasn't even alive yet!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Well, perhaps," Her mother began, "Whoever wrote this…Has the power of foresight. I mean, when you think about it, anything is possible now…"
"Yes, that is a very good guess." Miroku said, smiling at her, that lecherous twinkle in his eye.
Kagome noticed the look on his face, as Sango tapped her with her foot under the table. They exchanged uncertain glances and then looked away. But through all the sadness, confusion, and anger, a very strange and very disturbing thought popped into Kagome's mind.
He's hitting on my mother…!
Sango sent a death glare at Miroku, who merely shrugged and grinned. Kagome's mother looked around the table, not quite understanding.
Kagome began to giggle and shook her head in comical way.
"Ahem," Sango said. "Back to the scroll, please."
"Uh, yes… The scroll," Miroku started, awkwardly, "it said, 'follow the steps,' but I'm guessing that what you read was all you saw."
Kagome nodded and asked, "But why am I the only one who can see the words?"
Sango looked puzzled for a minute, then answered, "It mentions a 'chosen one.' Maybe, only the chosen one can read and follow the steps!"
Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. Me? She thought. The 'chosen one?' Ha I doubt it. I mean, look at me…
"So… Saying that I am this 'chosen one,' then if I follow the steps, I'll be able to see into to Naraku's mind, right?" She said, and Miroku nodded. "But what use will that be?"
"Well, you can see what he's planning!" Her mother responded.
"Which would ultimately lead to his destruction!" Sango added, excitedly.
Kagome sighed and said in a much quieter tone, "But still… what use will that be now that the well's sealed?"
Her question remained unanswered as her mother's soup began to sizzle on the stove. Ms. Higurashi stood up and took the pot off of the stove and spooned some into six bowls. She handed them to Miroku, Sango, Kagome and put one at her spot. She placed the other two on either sides of Kagome.
"Otouto! Shippo-chan!" Kagome called. "Dinner!"
The two came running into the room, obviously very hungry. Souta took a seat on Kagome's left and Shippo hopped up on Kagome's shoulder.
Kagome whispered to him, "You have to sit in the chair." He nodded and jumped down to the chair and began eating. She looked at the bowl and decided she didn't feel like eating. She just wasn't hungry.
Kagome looked around her table and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Despite her distressed state of mind, it was rather funny. It's not everyday that a taijiya, a monk, and a kitsune come over for dinner.
"Oh, I forgot!" Kagome said, smacking her head with her hand. "Miroku-sama, since Souta is back, you'll have to stay somewhere else. Uh…"
"He can stay in your grandfather's room." Her mother said simply.
Kagome nodded and told him, "It's across from the one you were in."
"Ok." He replied.
"Kagome?" Asked Souta. "Where's Inu-no-nii-chan?"
Kagome ignored her brother's question and looked away. She wasn't trying to be rude. She just didn't want to have to deal with that issue right now.
"Well…I think I'll head to bed…" She said, standing up, rather abruptly. Thinking about Inuyasha, and their predicament made her feel nauseous.
"But we still-" Miroku started, but was cut off when Sango kicked him, rather viscously, under the table.
Kagome said goodnight to everyone and turned to leave, when she remembered the scroll. She turned around again and picked it up off the table.
"I'm, uh, going to take this… Maybe I can work on it…" She trailed off and walked up the stairs and into her room.
She pulled out a sleeping bag from the closet and rolled it out on the floor. She grabbed a pillow from her bed and sat down. She held the scroll up and turned it around, looking for any other words.
"How am I supposed to follow the steps, if I don't know what they are?" She asked. "I just wish this stupid thing would show me these 'steps!'"
As if the scroll had heard her question, words began to appear, underneath the ones already there. Again it was if they were being written by an invisible hand.
The former keeper of the scroll will unwillingly reveal part of the prophecy to the dark one, before her death.
As the soon-to-be keeper of the scroll passes through a period of deep sorrow, the scroll will be passed onto another keeper.
The soon-to-be keeper of the scroll and hanyou will conceive a child. A very special child.
The dark one will be the cause of the separation of the soon-to-be keeper and the hanyou. The hanyou will sacrifice his love for her safety.
The guardian will fulfill his duty, by passing the scroll onto the rightful keeper.
Kagome dropped the paper and stared at it in shock. The scroll had just recounted the past few weeks.
And if her guess was correct, than it had been Kikyo who had told Naraku of the prophecy. Miroku had said that the scroll had been in Kikyo's possession. Maybe she had been able to uncover some of it and when she had been revived, told Naraku. It made sense… If Kikyo was the only one able to read part of it, then Kagome would be able to as well because she is Kikyo's reincarnation.
It all made sense!
Kagome hesitantly picked the paper back up and looked at it. What she read weren't steps though. It was just a sort of timeline.
How can I get the steps to appear? She wondered. Maybe if I say it out loud… It seemed to work last time.
"Uh…Show me the steps?" She asked. She looked at the paper and the writing disappeared to be replaced by more. It said,
'These are the steps.'
"What!" She exclaimed. Now it seemed that the paper was alive and was able to answer her questions. She looked back down and saw more writing.
'These are the steps that have been completed.'
Breath Kagome, breath. She told herself. She looked back down at the paper and asked, "What are you?"
'I am the prophecy.'
"The prophecy?" She asked out loud, her heart beating wildly.
'I was once a powerful priestess with the power of foresight. I foresaw your plight and wrote this. When I died my soul was contained within this magical paper.'
"But then… You know how to destroy Naraku! You have to tell me!" Kagome cried anxiously.
'Naraku? I do not recognize the name you speak…"
Kagome was confused for a moment and then realized in the prophecy Naraku was known as the 'dark one.'
"I mean the dark one. He calls himself Naraku." She corrected herself.
'Yes. I do. But, alas, the magic in this scroll forbids me from revealing it at the present moment. You must follow the steps in order to destroy him.'
Disappointed, Kagome stood up and began pacing, nervously. She thought for a moment and than sat back down.
"But all you showed me before was a timeline of what's been happening… How are those steps?" She asked it.
'Yes, I know that's how it looks to your eyes. But each statement is a step that has been fulfilled… All you must do to see the next, once the previous has been completed, is ask.'
Seems easy enough, she thought.
"Um… Can you show me the next step please?" She asked politely. The parchment went blank once again, and more writing appeared.
The rightful keeper shall give birth to the chosen one. Great happiness she will have whilst the hanyou endures pain and suffering caused by the dark one.
Kagome gasped and said, "But I thought I was the chosen one!" Though this time the paper made no response. "If I'm not the chosen one, how come I can read this?"
'Because this prophecy was written for you.'
What! She thought. She shivered. That's creepy. Someone knowing about your life before you do… Weird.
"Wait… You mentioned the very first keeper. How come she could read it?" Kagome questioned.
'It was my mistake. I mistook her for you. Surely you can see the similarities?'
So she thought I was Kikyo? Wouldn't be the first person… She thought bitterly. And because of her mistake now Naraku knows part of the prophecy.
"Because you revealed part of your secrets to the first keeper, the dark one now knows that I'm going to have a kid and that the chosen one will be able to see into his mind… Great." She muttered, sarcastically.
'After I had revealed the first four lines, I knew something was not right. This woman was in love with a hanyou so I thought that this was the woman I had written the prophecy for. I was mistaken. I revealed no more.'
"Wait!" Kagome exclaimed. "Than how would he know that I'm going to have a child? None of the steps had been completed and you said you didn't tell her anymore! How does Naraku know!"
'It was my fault. When she touched the paper her powers managed to accidentally break through the protective barrier I had cast to keep the evil from being able to read it. She hadn't even tried to break it. Her powers… They were amazing.
Unfortunately a bit of information seeped out. I was able to stop all of it from being passed onto this woman. She only discovered the first few steps, even though they hadn't been completed.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused!" She glared at the paper, expecting an answer, or an apology, but the words just faded away.
Angry, she rolled up the paper and threw it inside a drawer. She got into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.
She felt so helpless. She would have to sit her and wait while Inuyasha was out fighting Naraku. It wasn't right!
But for now all she could do was pray…
Pray that Inuyasha could hold on.
Ok, so not too much changed.
Also, in case you still haven't seen the 2nd IY movie, here's about the locket thing. It is from the second movie. Kagome was 'slow' in coming back so Inuyasha comes to her era to get her. She's walking home from school at the time, and Souta runs up to tell her Inuyasha came to get her. Souta brings her down the road to where the hanyou is. She doesnt want anyone to see him so she pushes him into and photo booth where she yells at him. Both of them are angry and Souta thinks it'd be fun to take pictures so he puts some money in. The flash goes off and Inuyasha thinks it's a demon and he tries to attack it.. Kagome sits him.. Anyway she puts the pictures in a locket and gives it to him. In the end it saves him from being turned to stone by the evil lady of the movie, Kaguya-hime.
So thats about it.
Until next time,
-Kellai-chan-