A/N: I thought that a 20 chapter fic would go by fast, but for some reason, this one is just seeming to crawl. I think it has something to do with the fact that it's the end of the year. Time slows to a stop once you get into the final three weeks.
Check that…2 weeks and 3 days! (If it weren't for Memorial Day, I would have died.)
Chapter 14: Tsubaki Returns
And so it was spring again. After the long winter, the grass had returned to its former bright green hue and the buds were once again in bloom.
And for Kagome, it meant that she had spent one year as Kikyou.
One year…365 days in another woman's body, pretending to be someone else…Though it seemed like a long time, for Kagome, it had passed fairly quickly. Being Kikyou was not as hard as it initially looked, but it was rather…trying.
She no longer had to remind herself that she was Kikyou, that came naturally. Now, however, she needed to remind herself that she was Kagome, Kikyou's reincarnation, a separate person entirely.
And around Inuyasha more than ever did Kagome need to remind herself of that. She constantly found herself enwrapped by the internal fantasy that she was Kikyou…and that Inuyasha had fallen in love with her.
It was quite obvious now more than it had ever been of Inuyasha's true feelings—He seemed a lot happier around her, and even smiled upon rare occasion, and would wait for her in the forests when she left the village, just to talk.
But what baffled Kagome was as she found herself opening up to him as well, he would sometimes give her a funny, scrutinizing look that made her paranoid. Inuyasha couldn't possibly guess the real situation, but it was obvious to her that he suspected something was amiss…The only time Kagome forgot that she was Kikyou was when she was with him, remembering how she used to act before all this business.
He must have observed her in the village when she was fully enwrapped by her Kikyou disguise, and noticed the small changes in her when she was with him. But Kagome had never known that Inuyasha had known Kikyou so well that he was able to predict what she would say.
But then again, they had known each other for a year. After all, she knew Inuyasha so well she could predict what he would do at sometimes as well.
However, even when her worries weren't to her portrayal as Kikyou, she had other worries, mostly pertaining to those emotions that Inuyasha brought out within her. There had never been any question in her mind for almost as long as she had known him that she loved him, but pretending to be Kikyou…and to have Inuyasha responding to her feelings of love, only made them more intense. Of course, it was illogical to love a man who thought you were his former love, but her heart could not contain itself.
Seeing him loving her like this made her fight the urge to just jump the hanyou and kiss him senseless sometimes…of course, neither Kikyou nor Kagome was prone to do that, so it would remain a well thought of fantasy in her mind.
But there was a darker side to all her attentions on Inuyasha—she was neglecting things that she knew, in the back of her mind, she should be thinking about. The first of these was Onigumo. Ever since that day Kaede had told her of what Onigumo had said, she had shoved it from her mind, wanting to wait until "later" to deal with it.
"Later" never came.
It wasn't that she was forgetful, but having to think about it would be admitting that unless she did something quickly, she would die Kikyou's death…and history would repeat itself…And the 'how' of stopping him was also in question.
Kagome was determined not to think about it, however, and thus she did not. After all, it was not like he had shown any signs of turning into Naraku soon.
Another thing she had neglected to think about was the matter of Tsubaki and the curse she had placed upon her. It had been about a year since she had seen the dark miko, and received her curse. Of course Kagome had forgotten about it, how could she not? She had hardly thought of it since the day she had received the curse, and with the arrival of Inuyasha, the gaping black hole of her memory swallowed up the knowledge.
But soon, it was to be retrieved once more, and add yet another fear to her fast growing collection…
As Spring carried on, soon the trees outside the village carried the pink sakura blossoms, the petals blowing off and swaying in the wind. Kagome had been venturing along in the forest, with Inuyasha nowhere nearby, thinking upon her current situation once more, when she stood and looked up into the mass of light pink, peacefully lost in her thoughts.
It's been one year since I became Kikyou…she remembered. I thought I would have found a way home by now…
Kikyou's eyes became tragic as Kagome began to worry. So, am I to spend my entire life like this? As Kikyou the miko instead of Kagome…who I am?
And if I do, then Inuyasha…
How could I ever explain this? I couldn't…
Then, perhaps…maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing after all to just pretend to be Kikyou for the rest of my life…
But while she was standing there, contemplating this, she heard someone move from behind her. A calm, yet icy voice asked, "Isn't it wonderful?"
Kagome turned her head slightly, and the empty drop in her heart knew the worst as she saw who it was. Tsubaki. The dark miko stood her ground, her long dark hair swaying in the wind, while she held a snake mononoke like a pet while a smirk was on her makeup-laden face. "However, standing amongst Sakura for so long starts giving you strange feelings, it seems."
Kagome wasn't focused on the overconfident miko, she was looking more at the mononoke on the miko's shoulder. Why didn't she know Tsubaki was there? She should have sensed the youkai somewhat…
Tsubaki continued to taunt while Kagome kept her face Kikyou-calm. "Is it the fault of the sakura? You seem a different person than before, Kikyou." The miko's smile grew wider as she continued, "So how weak is your spiritual power now? Go make a barrier against the mononoke and the youkai and the like."
Getting a very bad feeling, but knowing not to let it show on her face, Kagome glanced down, and near her ankles floated two similar snake mononke. A shiver ran up her spine…she couldn't sense them as well as she should. Compared to how powerful her youkai sensing powers were before, she was very weak, only able to barley make out their youki if she really concentrated. Kagome began to internally panic. What's going on? Why are my senses so weak?
But Kikyou would not let herself show panic. Especially in front of a woman such as Tsubaki. "I see. You were the one that released those mononoke." she replied, her dark eyes glaring at the other miko with a look of malice.
A small chuckle escaped Tsubaki as she told her with mirth. "Your heart's been led astray by a man. He's the one who's a hanyou, right?"
Kagome didn't reply. She was only focused on that amused look in the miko's eyes…and how to turn that look into one of fear. It took all her training of being Kikyou to not respond to her slight of Inuyasha, or to hero obvious happiness that Kikyou was currently weak in her defenses.
Though Kagome half-expected Tsubaki to attack, what she did next surprised her. She outstretched her hand, and in an expression of almost-concern, spoke, "Hand over the Shikon no Tama. I'll purify it in your place."
The proposition that Tsubaki could be the one to purify the Shikon no Tama was indeed laughable. Though Kagome had already broken the rule saying mikos could not love, Tsubaki's character was definitely not the sort of woman that should be trusted under any circumstances.
That, and the fact that she was not stupid.
A small smile of amusement appeared on Kikyou's face as she turned away, replying simply, "It is impossible for you."
What happened next had been expected by Kagome. She heard Tsubaki yell triumphantly, "Die, Kikyou!" and the sound of the snake mononoke rushing toward her, fangs extended, ready to kill.
Kagome didn't even think about her actions as she grasped her bow, filling it with the spiritual power that remained in her. The mononoke inched closer, it was only feet away from her, giving her almost no time to turn.
But she did. Whipping around sharply, she extended the hand which she held her bow forward, causing the snake mononoke to hit the bow and bounce off with an emission of pink light from the bow. The mononoke was deflected and sent careening back at the dark miko, who didn't stand a chance.
Right before Kagome's eyes, the snake shot into Tsubaki's right eye while she screamed in pain. This was followed by another scream as the youki hissed out once more, while she fell to her knees clutching her eye.
In a low, dangerous voice, Tsubaki yelled, "Damn you, Kikyou!" and removed her hand. There, around her eye, was a pattern like snake skin. Because she was technically a miko, after all, the mononoke had dissolved, but its semblance remained.
Had enough of this Kagome warned, "Begone! And I won't take your life." And then walked away, leaving Tsubaki amongst the sakura, with more pressing matters on her mind.
I couldn't feel those mononke…I couldn't feel those mononoke…she kept repeating, over and over, trying to come up with some possible explanation. Why didn't I feel—
And then it hit her. She remembered what Tsubaki had said, a year ago, about mikos having to give up love. Because love made them weak.
A small gasp escaped her as she stopped along her path, Kikyou's eyes widening. "Inuyasha…" she whispered.
Of course, it made too much sense. Because she was allowing herself to love Inuyasha, not guarding her heart because he believed her to be Kikyou, her spiritual powers were decreasing. No, she was decreasing Kikyou's powers for feeling this way! If Kikyou's powers were decreased and she couldn't sense youkai unless they were very close or very immense then…
Her breath became short and scared as the hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she contemplated this frightening thought. "Naraku…"
Without hesitation, Kagome dashed off towards Onigumo's cave, not caring who saw. It wasn't a matter of keeping her disguise anymore, it was a matter of life or death, and not only Kikyou's death, but hers as well…
As she reached the cave, she reached out with her miko powers once more, just to check…and she felt nothing. But as she had just discovered that did not make it absolute. She felt herself tremble as she walked through the long grass, towards the mouth of the cave, fearing what she would see.
Was Naraku already formed and inside, waiting for her? Would he kill her on the spot? Or would he try to fool her and gain the Shikon no Tama?
Unable to control her fear, she almost turned around, but she had to press on and know for sure. Slowly, she bent down to peer into the cave, and view the floor below…
And Kagome was met with a sigh of relief. Onigumo was still there, still on the floor under a blanket and wrapped in bandages, asleep. No youkai, no fire, no Naraku. Everything was normal.
But as she turned away to leave the scene, Kagome made a mental note to keep a higher watch on him, and to check up every day just to make sure.
Unfortunately, she had just passed out of the range to sense anything from the cave when a small, red, spider youkai scuttled in and down to the man below…
A/N: Mwa ha ha ha ha ha.
