Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.
Chapter Nine: Kaede's Advice
Kagome smiled and squealed in joy as the wind rushed against her face. Riding on Inuyasha's back as he raced through the forest was much better than any carnival ride she had ever been on. It had surprised her at how smooth of a ride it was. Most of the time it felt more like flying. Though her tummy would go all fluttery when he would land and take off again, the same kind of feeling she would get on a roller coaster back home. She loved it!
Suddenly Kagome was no longer on his back. Suddenly she was face to face with two rather large wasp demons and a boar demon. In the excitement of riding/flying with Inuyasha, she hadn't heard their little tune of warning.
She hated fighting with the wasp demons, their stingers hurt like crazy. So she decided to take on the boar demon first. She wasn't fast enough. Inuyasha had him fizzled to a memory in no time flat. He turned to glare at her before charging at the wasps.
"Stay back!"
Kagome watched in awe as he took out the two wasps. After they were gone she started going through the grass.
"Now what are you doing?"
"Looking for stuff they dropped." She kicked at the grass as she looked. She tossed the tiny bags of gold in her bag and scooped up a red vial of liquid.
"What are you in such a bad mood for? I killed the demons didn't I?"
"Yes."
"Then be happy. We also found a healing potion. Drink up and lets get going."
"It's not healing potion, I'm not sure what it is yet."
"Why are you being so snippy?"
Kagome glared at him. "I'm supposed to fight too, you know! I'm not useless! I won't get any stronger if I never fight."
She tried to storm off back down the path, but she didn't get far before a clawed hand reached out and grasped her arm. Reluctantly she let herself be turned around. Even though she knew it was childish, she squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to look at him.
He sighed. "Open your eyes, Kagome."
She refused.
"Do you really want me to pry them open?"
She peeked out of her right eye. He didn't look mad anymore, so she opened both eyes and glared at him again. "If you don't fight you don't get stronger. I don't want to be weak!"
He shakes his head at her and lightly bops her on the head. "You're also pretty badly wounded, you moron. If you fight when you can barely stand you won't have a chance of making it to the end to GET stronger. When you get healed you can fight in as many battles as you want."
"Stop using logic on me!"
He chuckled and reached into her bag. He came up with nothing. "What the… Kagome, I thought you had one more! This thing is empty!"
"We do." She pushes his hand away and reaches into the bag and pulls out the vial. "Odd… I guess it only works for me."
Grumbling about unfairness, Inuyasha takes the vial from her and puts it to her lips and waits impatiently until she drank. Together they watched as wounds healed. The blood was still there, but the wound was closed.
"That never gets old."
"You are so weird, Kagome."
She grinned at him. "You thought it was cool, too. Don't deny it."
"Feh."
After dusting herself off and slipping her backpack back on, Kagome was ready to go. She reached for her bow, only to have it taken from her by her companion.
"How come you never use this thing? You were going to fight that boar barehanded when you have a bow?"
Kagome sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "I can't seem to get the hang of it. And I only have a few arrows left. Once I shoot them, they disappear."
"So, practice."
"Well," Kagome explained irritably, "I would, except for that I can't. I can't use the arrows outside of battle, I've tried. They just disappear from my hand and reappear back in the quiver. And I've been battling by myself if you remember, and considering I could never get an arrow to hit, it seemed like a bad time."
Inuyasha shoved the bow into her hands and started down the path. "Good thing you have me. Now you can start using that thing in battle."
She grinned at his retreating back. He's right! Suddenly she was looking forward to the next battle.
A few hours later, Kagome was out of arrows. However, she was quite pleased with the fact that the last two actually connected. Not fatally, but at least they hit.
"We should camp for the night," Inuyasha said as he hopped down from the tree he was in. Kagome had sent him up in hopes that he would be able to see the village. Unfortunately he hadn't. "We can keep walking in the morning."
Kagome plopped to the ground. "I won't argue with you there. I'm pooped!"
"You wouldn't be if you let me carry you more often." Inuyasha sank down beside her, not complaining when she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I don't want to tire you out or anything. Plus it wouldn't be very fair of me to always be hitching on ride on you. You're not a pack mule."
"I'd rather carry you than have to keep going so slow."
Kagome glared at him. She opened her mouth to complain about him calling her slow. Then again, compared to how fast he could go, I really must seem slow. So instead she decided to change the topic.
"What's your favorite color?"
Inuyasha looked startled. "What?"
"We're playing a game. You tell me something about you then I tell you something about me. I'm asking the first question. What's your favorite color?"
She felt him shift a bit, putting his arm around her and drawing her more comfortably in. He rested his head on hers and yawned.
"Guys don't have favorite colors."
"Yes they do. What is it?"
He paused. "Red."
Kagome looked at his red outfit and snickered softly.
"Don't be smart." Inuyasha warned. "Ok, my turn. What's the most embarrassing thing you've done at school?"
"What? Aren't you supposed to just ask me what MY favorite color is?"
"Its light yellow, I already knew that one. Besides, you didn't say there were any rules. Question for question. And you hafta be truthful."
"Hey, now you're just adding rules to the game!"
"Answer the question, Kagome. Or are you chicken?"
She growled. "Fine. Let's see… most embarrassing thing… ever?"
"Nah, just in high school I guess."
"Ok, that narrows it down some. Rules out some good ones though. Oh, I know, it was when my grandfather called me in sick with some ridiculous disease. When I went back to class a couple days later, the teacher had asked me how my Hepatic Lipidosis was. One of my friends even went to the trouble of bringing me nutrient supplements from the vets after he did some research on it."
"Hepatic Lipidosis?"
"It's a fatty liver disease in cats." Kagome explained. "My cat Buyo had the disease a few years before. It was touch and go with him for awhile, but he lived. I guess Grandpa got a little confused."
"In cats?"
"Yup."
"Is he special to you?"
"My grandpa?"
"The boy who brought you the stuff."
Kagome smiled. "Sorry, already answered your first question. Now its my turn. How old were you when you had your first kiss?"
He made a show of thinking about the question. Making loud hmmm-ing sounds. Finally, at Kagome's nudging in the ribs, he answered. "Seven. Kissed a girl in my class on a dare."
"Not very romantic."
"Feh. My turn. Is he special to you?"
"Who?"
"The boy-friend."
Kagome yawned. "Hojo is just a friend. No romantical feelings towards him at all, though the other girls at school all seemed to think he was something special. Guess he just wasn't the right guy for me."
One by one the stars began appearing in the sky. Kagome and Inuyasha continued to ask their questions. Some were embarrassing, some were personal, and some were just plain silly. Eventually they fell asleep.
The next morning, after yawning and stretching, they took off at full speed in the direction of Kaede's.
By lunchtime they finally found it. There were several huts and a few people standing around. Everyone had their one line that they said. Each one hinting that a priestess lived in a hut at the edge of the village and to beware of demons.
"I have been waiting for ye."
Inuyasha and Kagome looked up to see an elderly woman in priestess robes and an eyepatch. She was watching them carefully with a hint of a smile on her weathered face.
"Are you Kaede?" asked Kagome.
"I am. Ye seek the Shikon Jewel."
"Yes, we are. How did you know?"
"It's part of the game, stupid." Inuyasha nudged her as he rolled his eyes.
"Not all is as it seems, young demon. Be cautious."
Kagome looked at the woman. Something was definitely strange about her. She was different from the other NPCs, this one seemed to be free thinking. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Aye."
"Are you real?"
The woman smiled. "Reality is a matter of perception, is it not?"
"That doesn't answer the question, old woman."
"Inuyasha! Be nice!"
"You must retrieve the shards of the Shikon Jewel that were taken from you, young Kagome. They belong to you and you alone. They are dangerous."
"Where do we look?"
Kaede looked at her sadly. "Return home, Kagome. Speak to your mother." The old woman turned to go back into her hut. "Hurry."
Kagome felt as if someone had dumped ice water on her. She turned to Inuyasha, eyes wide in fear.
"Take me home!"
He nodded, then turned to wait for her to hop on. They raced at top speed to Kagome's village. They dodged battles and took no breaks. By nightfall the reached the edge of town. At least, what was left of the town.
Half of the building were on fire, several others were already little more than charcoal remains. Kagome ran through the town to where she knew her family was.
In front of her burning house she saw them. She saw the bodies of her family. With tears in her eyes she checked them for signs of life. Only her mother was still breathing, though it was slow and labored.
"Hang on, Mom!" Kagome pleaded as she checked her bag for anything that might heal the woman. She sobbed as her fingers came up with nothing. Her magic bag was failing her. It refused to let her save her mother.
Warm brown eyes looked up at her. "Kagome… the sword… free it… your love holds the key…" The woman pressed something into her hands. "Take this… it belongs to you now." She reached up and touched Kagome's cheek lovingly before taking her last breath. "I love you, my precious daughter."
Kagome held the dead woman to her chest and wept.
