Chapter 9 – Answers
Thank you all for being so patient! Finally, Kagome reveals all! And ohmygod, a big hug and bunch of kisses for everybody who reviewed! Hey Joskers…well, enjoy, bitch. ;) Sorry for talking…don't own Inuyasha…read!
It was the dead of night when Sango felt Kagome's hand on her. When she peeled open her eyes, she saw Kagome wearing only a towel and holding out an identical one. Her eyes were bright. "Hot springs." She whispered.
Five minutes later, Sango and Kagome were undressed and easing themselves into the steaming water. "Ahhhhh." Sango sighed. "My muscles are so sore. This feels great."
"No kidding." Kagome agreed. "That was some good fighting you did today."
"It wasn't even the fighting. I'm just not used to using Hiraikotsu. It's heavier than I remembered."
"I did wonder why Kaza came to us alone." Kagome said thoughtfully. "It didn't seem like you to let her go out into Japan with just Kirara. So you were practicing fighting?"
Sango nodded. "When Kaza was a baby, I exterminated demons for a living. But when she got older, she learned how to do it herself, especially with the Kazaana, even though she wasn't really allowed to use it. So I sort of retired. I didn't want to come with her without even remembering how to use my own weapon."
She sighed. "I'm not as young as I was. And I've kind of been out of it for fifteen years. What's happened, Kagome, since I took Kaza and left? When did you marry Inuyasha?"
"It's a long story." Kagome began, "But I guess you have to hear it. Shortly after you and Kaza left, Shippou left, too. He said he felt it was time he learned to fend for himself in the forests. Then there was no reason for Inuyasha and I to keep that hut we had – we'd only built it to take care of Kaza and Shippou, so after they left, we thought we might as well finish rebuilding the Shikon jewel."
"But here's the thing," she said, "when Naraku vanished, he took the shards with him, too. So including our own shards, there were only about ten shards left in Japan. Naraku still had most of them. Those were hard years." She closed her eyes. "Kikyo began showing up a lot more. I had to go back to my own time much more often so I could at least graduate high school, and I suspected she'd been romancing Inuyasha while I was gone. We fought a lot – Inuyasha and I – and more than once I threatened to go back to my own time permanently. That must've lasted three years until – "
Kagome smiled. "Kikyo died." Sango gasped, and she continued, "I wasn't there. I was in my own time. But apparently, it was some sort of powerful swarm of spider demons. She couldn't defend herself against so many. By the time Inuyasha got there, her clay body had crumbled away to dust.
"I felt her die – it was like my soul was whole again. But I didn't know what Inuyasha would do, so I waited there. After a few days, he came to my time and told me he realized when Kikyo died that I was the one he loved – and he proposed."
Sango grinned, and Kagome blushed. "It was amazing. I graduated high school in my time, then came here and married Inuyasha. We settled in the village where I became a priestess. I still go back to my time sometimes to see my family, but mostly I've been happy here with Inuyasha."
"That's amazing, Kagome!" Sango cried, giving her a huge hug. "Do you and Inuyasha have any children?"
Kagome's face dropped, and Sango knew the answer. She waited for a moment until Kagome could whisper sadly,
"We've tried, Sango. We've tried so hard. At first Inuyasha didn't want any kids, but then… and we…"
She took a deep breath and said, "I've had three miscarriages, Sango. Each time it hurt more and more. It was Inuyasha who finally told me no. He said, 'You're going to kill yourself, Kagome. Please, we have to stop.' The last miscarriage was two years ago, and I couldn't even look at the dead baby, I was crying so hard. Inuyasha was heartbroken, too, but he told me we had to stop trying for my own sake. I guess," she said with a sad smile, "neither of us were destined to have the perfect life. You got pregnant at sixteen with no husband, and every one of my pregnancies has miscarried. I'm 30 now, too old to have a baby. But it's okay now, cause we have Kaza and Shippou again."
Sango smiled, glad to get away from the sad topic. "How has she been doing – Kaza? Does she get along well with everybody?"
"They won't admit it, but we're all overjoyed to have her back. Inuyasha hides it, but he loved having her around. He missed Kaza while you were gone, and he really does protect her. Kirara's been like her mother – never lets Kaza out of her sight. Every night, she transforms, and Kaza sleeps snuggled up against her. And Shippou dotes on her. He treats her like a big sister even though he's older than her."
"And you?"
"Me? Of course I love her. She was like my daughter when you lived with us. But it's hard – she has Miroku's eyes."
"She acts like him, too, have you noticed?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded. "The little things, like how she pets Kirara, or talks to Inuyasha, or just how she sits. She acts like Miroku. It broke my heart when she was first born, because every time I looked at her, I saw Miroku."
"But how she decided to come and find him?" Kagome said. "That's pure you, Sango. She got that right from you."
Sango smiled, and they sat in silence. Sango felt her muscles loosening and all her fears melting away in the steam. But then Kagome burst out,
"I think we're in over our head, Sango."
"Huh?"
"You said it yourself, we're not as young as we once were. We've both been through pregnancy. And neither of us have battled for years. We couldn't defeat Naraku when we were in the prime of our youth, what makes Kaza so confident we can do it now?"
Sango was silent. Kagome pushed back her hair. "I don't mean to sound pessimistic. But, Sango, it's sometimes hard for me to catch up to Inuyasha. I can still shoot my arrows, but my muscles get tired easily. I don't have the energy I did when I was fifteen. Thirty's not that old, but with everything both of us have gone through since we were last teenagers, we might as well be one hundred. I think maybe Kaza's placing too much faith in us – I'm not sure I can do it."
The soft waves of the hot spring were the only sounds for a while. Then Sango said slowly, "I'm not gonna deny that I'm not as good as I once was. I have trouble fighting, too, and when I first heard that Kaza wanted to find her father, I didn't think we could do it either.
"But then I remembered when she was a baby. Sure, it was hard because she looked and acted so much like Miroku. But when I held her little hands, and when she breast-fed, so helpless and dependant on me…when she first opened her mouth and called me 'Mama'…I knew I'd do anything for this girl. For my daughter. And I remembered that I would have done anything for Miroku. I would've gone to hell and back, I would've faced Naraku alone, for him. Kagome, I owe it to them to do this. Kaza needs to know her father…Miroku needs to know he has a daughter. Those two gave me my life, I need to give it back."
Kagome smiled. "I never forgot him – Miroku. I remembered all the times he saved me, all those times when he'd sacrifice for me. You're right. Kaza's right. We owe it to him to save him from wherever he is. I know that Inuyasha, Shippou, Kirara and Kaza will do it."
"So, what do you say, Kagome?" Sango said, standing up and shaking out her hair with a smile. "Think we can still kick demon ass?"
"If you can, I can." Kagome grinned, standing up, too. "I have to prove it to Inuyasha that I'm not a wuss after all."
"Oh, him?" Sango scoffed, getting out and wrapping a towel around her. "I think you proved that in the amount of times you said 'sit' to him today."
"I thought that leaving that necklace on was a good idea. We'd better get to bed – I can guarantee there'll be a demon tomorrow."
"Sure." Sango said. "It was great to talk to you again, Kagome. I missed you."
"I missed you too, Sango. It's good to have you back."
I hope that answered all questions. And I know that a lot of you might be dissatisfied with my answers…but that's your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. No flames, please. But, why don't instead you press that pretty purplish-blue button and review? I really appreciate it! Arigatou!
