A/N I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. I am just having fun with the prompt I had found on Tumblr.
Kagome returned to the hut to drop off her things, Kaede was there before she left, and looked more worried than Kagome had ever seen her.
"Kagome, I thought you had left. Did Inuyasha find you?"
Kagome nodded and let out a deep breath. "Yes, I have given us a year. If I can unlock my powers with Inuyasha's help he will let us stay. If I haven't done so in a year you will both have to leave. But now, I have to go work with him. I'll be back before dinner."
She took a small canteen and filled it, and a couple pieces of bread for her midday meal, then left the hut. When she got to the stream, he was waiting for her.
"Ok witch. Let's see what you can do. What have you learned exactly?"
Her head drooped for a second, "I know how to do the spells, but I cannot get them to work. How do we remove the binding so I can access all of my powers?"
"Keh, it ain't that easy, witch. You're gonna have to work that down. I have a few ideas, but it's gonna take time, and a lot of practice. Now sit here and show me what you can do."
She sat on the same rock as the night before and accessed her powers. She tried to go through all of the spells that had been drilled into her, but none of them worked. At least as far as she could tell, but apparently Inuyasha thought differently.
"Keh, you've definitely got the potential. I can see your powers trying to make the spells work, but the binding pulls them back at the last second. Any idea who bound you, and why?"
She thought back to her childhood, thinking of her parents, and tried to remember if either of them had powers. She honestly couldn't recall. And no one had ever told her how they died. Then, as she sat there with him, a memory flashed.
She was out playing in the yard, and she saw a man come to visit. She had never seen him before, but she had thought nothing of it. He had stared at her hard before he left and the smile he flashed her had been sickening. She went inside almost immediately after he left and her mother was crying.
Her father looked like he had seen a ghost and upon her entering they both grabbed her and hugged her tightly. That night she remembered someone come over to her futon in her sleep, but she couldn't see who it was. When she awoke in the morning she felt funny, and when she told her mother that, her mother just said she must've played too hard the day before and to rest a little longer. She tried to go back to sleep, but something was wrong. She knew it. She just couldn't figure out what.
A week or more passed, and the creepy man came back every day. He was getting angrier every time. Finally, after a shouting match in the house he stormed out and left. He didn't come back again. But less than a week later Kagome woke up and was surprised her mother and father were still in their futon. She tried to wake them, but they stayed asleep. Or at least she had thought they were asleep. She managed to find something to eat, and went outside to play again. She went in to check on them multiple times, but they wouldn't wake. The next day she was saddened to see they were still sleeping. She tried to wake them again, but she was getting desperate. This time when she grabbed her mother's hand she felt how cold she was, and fear gripped her. She didn't know what death was back then, but she knew something was not right.
She ran to the neighbors, trying to get help. The neighbor was a kind woman, and after assuring her that everything was fine, and walked her home, she was unfortunately turned into a liar by no fault of her own. Kagome was more confused when other villagers came to dig holes in her yard. Then they put her mama and papa in the holes. She had cried and begged. Telling them that they were hurting her mama and papa. She had tried to tell them that when they woke up they were gonna be scared. But everyone just looked at her with a sadness she didn't understand. How could she understand it? She was barely 6 when her parents died. She was left on the street until Kaede found her.
She came out of her memory with a new realization. Her mother and father had done something to her that night. Had that man wanted her powers? Were they trying to protect her? She closed her eyes again and focused on that terrifying being. The man with the long greasy hair, and the dark black eyes. He had stared at her so hard. Why? She was only a child. She would need to figure this out to break this binding. In order to protect her new family.
She must have been lost in her memories for a decent amount of time, as Inuyasha was staring at her expectedly. Had he asked her a question? Crap. Some protege she was turning out to be.
"I'm so sorry, I think I got lost here a moment. I was trying to think of who might have put the binding on me."
"Keh, I know ya dunce. I asked you that, and you started thinking. Then you kinda disappeared for a good 10 minutes. What did ya see?"
She gave him a sad smile, "My parents. I was remembering their deaths. Trying to determine if it was related to this whole thing. And I…" Could she trust him? She didn't even know him. "I think they had my powers bound to protect me from someone. I can remember his face, but I never knew his name. But I think I remember the binding. I was around six years old. I don't know why he wanted me, but I think he did. Now, I could be entirely wrong. But something tells me he was the reason it happened."
The smirk that spread across his face calmed her down. She couldn't explain why she trusted him so much.
"Well, that might be good news. Who was your village healer?"
Her head quirked for a second, "A monk named Mushin, I believe."
He nodded and stood up, "All right, Kagome. Lets go."
Her eyes were wide, "Go where?"
He looked at her like she was an idiot, "To see if this Mushin bound your powers or at least knows the bastard that did. Hell, he might even know who they were protecting you from."
Oh, that did make sense. She nodded and stood up, "I need to go tell them I am leaving. It's at least a 2 day walk. I'll need a few things."
"Keh, I'll have ya back by morning. I can travel a lot faster than you humans. Now go grab some crap and let's go. I'll meet you by the barrier."
He took off on his own and she walked back as quickly as she could. After telling Kaede and Kikyou what she could, she grabbed a few things, like a shawl, and refilled her canteen. She met him within 10 minutes, and he bent down in front of her, grabbed her arm and put her on his back. In seconds, he was flying. They were flying. It was the most exhilarating feeling ever. She felt the wind whipping her black hair around her, and the breeze against her skin was amazing. She lost all track of time. She could see the sky for miles. He would land on a branch and take off into another leap within an instant. Once they were past the forest, normally a several hour hike. He began running at speeds she had never imagined were possible. He was right. What was normally almost an entire day's hike, he finished in less than a couple hours.
He arrived at the village and set her down, allowing her to walk in under her own ability. She walked to the healer's house and was surprised to see a young man she didn't know. Inuyasha walked a step behind her, but remained with her nonetheless.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry. Is Mushin still here?"
The young man gave her a dazzling smile, "My, what a beauty you are." He stepped up to her and took her hand, and at first she thought he was being polite, although a tad too familiar, "Would you do me the honor of bearing my children?"
Her eyes bugged out of her head, and Inuyasha snatched his arm and pulled his hands from her own. "Keh, are you asking to die, Monk? Keep your hands to yourself."
His smile fell, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were only traveling companions, but I was mistaken. I didn't realize she was your mate. Please accept my apologies."
Inuyasha's cheeks grew red, "She ain't my mate, but she is my student. And she is going to be my familiar. Now keep your damn hands to yourself."
The young man nodded, "I see, I believe a mistake has been made here. You said you were looking for Mushin, is there something I can do to help you?"
"Keh, the only thing you can do, is show us where to find Mushin."
The man nodded and jerked his head towards the house. "Mushin, you have visitors."
An old man was drunk as could be and sitting haphazardly at the table. If he didn't have his arm on the table, he would have likely been lying on the floor. Kagome walked up to him and touched his arm lightly. "Mushin, do you remember me? I am Higurashi Kagome."
His eyes lit up and his red cheeks spread into a grin. "Ah, you have grown up so big. I remember when you were so little. I am so glad you survived. I remember the day that monster killed your parents. We tried to find him, but he had vanished. He was after people with powers. That is why I sent Miroku away. I wanted to protect him, just as your parents wanted to protect you. I just couldn't seal his powers since it was a curse. I was barely able to seal yours. You are indeed powerful. I can still sense your powers even after I locked them away. I tried so hard, it took a great deal of my power. I sent Miroku to study to be a monk on Mt. Hakurei, hoping the aura of peace would protect and guard him. Luckily, he has finished his studies and returned."
"You disappeared before I could tell you what happened. I wanted to wait until you were old enough to understand, but it seemed like you had found somewhere else to live."
She nodded, she had been living in her parents' house for a while. Doing her best to take care of herself. People would show up mostly every day to try to get her to leave and come with them, but she had always said no. Until she met Kaede. Then his words registered. He knew who the man was. He also admitted something else she was eager to learn. "You bound my powers? Can you remove it?"
He lifted his hand to her head and focused for a minute, trying. She could feel him, almost like he was pulling at a cord that was wrapped around her. But the more he pulled, the more it seemed to snag and knot around her. It was starting to hurt. She found herself gasping for air, and the monk was pulled away from her. She opened her eyes and Inuyasha was holding the monk by the throat with his feet dangling off the floor.
His voice was a growl, "What did you do?"
She stood up and grabbed his arm, "I'm okay, it's okay. I think something is wrong though. You can't undo it, can you?" Inuyasha lowered him to the floor, but a low growl was permeating the room.
"I-I don't think I can. I am so sorry, Higurashi. I had hoped to remove it earlier, but it seems your powers have grown around it. I will have to do some research, but I don't know if it can ever be undone. What have I done?"
Inuyasha all but threw the old man back onto his pillow where he had been sitting before. "You're wrong. Her powers are too great to be stopped by you. She can get out of this on her own. I'll help her though." She felt her cheeks heat up and watched as Inuyasha stormed out of the house.
"Thank you for protecting me, Mushin. Can you tell me one thing? Who was the man who came to my house before? I remember him visiting often, and then after he stopped my parents died."
His eyes welled with tears, "I am so sorry you remember that monster. His name is Naraku. He masqueraded himself as a human, but he was definitely not. He had been once, but he sold his soul to demons to give himself power. He was looking to eat you, my dear. He wanted to eat you and absorb your powers. Your mother came to me one night crying. Begging me to help her. I couldn't tell her no. If I had, you would be dead, and it is still likely that he would have killed them, anyway. I could do nothing to protect all of you."
Her hand rubbed his shoulder, "I understand. Thank you so much. I know you tried, and that means more than anything. I'm sorry about my friend. He seems to be a little protective of me. I'm glad he didn't hurt you."
With that she stood and exited the house, following Inuyasha. Miroku was waiting for her, "Are you going after him?" She looked at him, more confused than ever, and then glanced at Inuyasha and was surprised to see his cheeks bright red. Was he blushing?
"Are we going after who?"
He looked incredulous, "Naraku of course. He killed your parents, and he killed my father. If you're going after him, I'm going too. If I can't kill him, I am dead anyway."
She looked at Inuyasha again, her confusion clear as day on her face, "Keh, he figures you want to avenge your family, but actually the lecher might have a good idea. By killing the monster who was the reason behind your powers being bound, it might help break the binds. If you're up for it, o'course."
"But I thought you were going to train me? Is our deal done already?"
"Keh, it ain't like I can't train ya while we travel. But if ya don't want to, we can figure something else out."
It was Miroku's turn to look incredulous. "Her powers aren't bound. I can feel them. She's got a great deal of power."
Inuyasha just smirked, "Look again, monk. Your friend Mushin tried to undo the bindings, but he couldn't. The thing is, she's so powerful that what you see is spilling over the binding. She's gonna be unstoppable."
Her cheeks burned again. Why would he say something like that? It was so embarrassing. She ducked her head to hide her embarrassment. What could she even say to that? Sure, it was meant to be a compliment, but that was the strangest compliment she could imagine. "Well, I think we should wait until after the ritual. Then if you think that would be the best way to try to break the binding, then we can do it."
He leaned over towards her and whispered in her ear, "You're already doing a better job than you know. Once the ritual is complete, I will tell you more about the rules regarding a familiar."
She felt her eyes go wide as she stared at the ground. What was he talking about? She would have to ask Kaede for all the information, immediately. "Ummm, well Miroku, we will be waiting at least a week then we will likely be getting on the road. I don't know where we will be going, but perhaps you can travel a bit with us. It's up to Inuyasha, though."
His growl cut her off, "I don't want any bouzo with us. Sorry, Monk." She could tell he wasn't the least bit sorry.
"Wouldn't having help be worth it? We don't even know what we're up against."
"I thought you said it was my call. Why are ya changing your mind already, witch?"
Her eyes went wide. As his familiar, she would listen to what he said, but as his familiar, shouldn't she also give him her opinion? She bit her lip and dropped her head. What should she do?
Her voice came out soft and meek. "Of course. It is your decision. I just think you should think a bit more about it, before making up your mind so quickly. I apologize."
"Keh. Let's go." With that, he grabbed her arm and slung her on his back, taking off into the forest. Perhaps she was right. Maybe having another person would help, but he couldn't trust the bastard. He needed to have strong allies that were trustworthy, not lecherous monks.