I have a distant feeling I'm going to regret what I'm doing right now. No, not updating, but neglecting school somewhat in order to do it. I have a feeling it'll come back and bite me in the ass… Oh well.
Anyway, here's chapter three. I hope you enjoy. And thanks you all for the great reviews. Please, please keep them coming :3
Thousand thanks to Kanna37 for beta-ing!
Tracks used for this chapter:
Riviera: the Promised Land: Elegant Melodies (link: www. aimini view /?fid=j6RlYEOhjcYHpov3oDgG)
Breakers:
XxX: change of scene
~ξ~: time-skip
乗: Beginning/End of Flashback
[T] and [/T]: Beginning/End of soundtrack
Reminder: 'Inuyasha' written normally refers to Inuyasha, while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) refers to Kagome, the "Gentle Dog Demon".
Chapter 3: Kikyo's Bow
Inuyasha winced slightly as Kaede wrapped clean bandages around the wound in his side. They had returned to the village shortly after the half-demon-girl, Kagome, had left and Kaede set immediately to work on the injury he had gotten from the centipede demon.
Inuyasha himself hadn't truly registered he had been hurt until after the adrenaline stopped pumping through his veins and his system started registering other things, like pain.
The wound was deep and was bleeding a lot. According to Kaede, Inuyasha had been lucky the demon hadn't bitten a clean hole into his body. Inuyasha's stomach did a small flip flop in disgust at the news, but he had hidden his discomfort perfectly from Kaede's eyes. As it was, he was told that he needed just to take it easy for a few days so that the wound wouldn't reopen and he'd be healed in about three to four days time. This didn't mean the healing wound didn't sting though, but Inuyasha ignored the pain in favor of other thoughts. Now that all the action was over and he was back in the miko's hut, his mind had caught up with all the loose information he had gathered that night and his curiosity was getting the better of him.
[T]
"Who was that girl?" he found himself asking suddenly. When he saw Kaede's raised eyebrow, he elaborated. "That girl that was pinned to the tree… the Inuyasha… who exactly is she? And what exactly is she?" Kaede observed him for a moment with narrowed eyes.
"Do ye not recognize a hanyō or a yōkai when ye see one, child?" the old priestess asked and it was Inuyasha's turn to raise his eyebrow. 'Hanyō? Yōkai?' he repeated the foreign expressions in his head, not understanding them at all. What kind of creatures, if they were truly living beings in the first place, was Kaede talking about?
"What are hanyō and yōkai?" he finally asked and at Kaede's surprised stare, he sighed. "There are no such… beings… where I come from," he said, hesitating only a moment to wonder if a hanyō or a yōkai were actually living creatures or not, but finally deciding to suppose that they were. Kaede observed him for a while longer with narrowed eyes before looking away.
"In that case, ye must be from really far away," she said simply, not knowing how right she actually was, though neither did Inuyasha at the time. "Yōkai are evil spirits, or demons as other people call them. They have many forms and many different powers and are stronger than most humans, though there are exceptions; humans who can fight yōkai. They are spiritually gifted people, monks, priestesses," Kaede stopped for a while as she looked at him. "Or kannushi, like yourself," she finally finished and Inuyasha did a double take.
"Me? Fight the things like that centipede?" he asked in disbelief. Surely, the old woman couldn't be serious, could she? Sure, he knew how to fight and he never thought himself weak up until today. He could hold his own against bullies at school and the like… but the thing that attacked him today was a different story entirely even though he had been able to hold it off for a while.
As much as the black haired boy hated to admit it, he had to say that he had been lucky the silver haired girl had been there and that she had been freed when she had been. Though he could thank himself for that last one more than anyone else, so he hadn't been exactly useless today either.
"Ay. Ye have immense spiritual power. With some training, ye could gain control of your powers and use them to your full potential. Who knows, maybe ye could even surpass Kikyo. But whatever the outcome, ye will have to learn to use your powers if ye are to protect the Sacred Jewel," Kaede stated gravely. Inuyasha however was more focused on the by now familiar name of Kikyo, so he decided to disregard her last statement and ponder it later.
"And this Kikyo person," he started, hesitating only a moment when he recalled Kaede saying something about her being dead. "Who was she?" he finally asked. The older miko sighed and closed her eyes as if remembering some long forgotten memory before answering.
"Kikyo was my elder sister," she replied and continued upon seeing Inuyasha's questioning gaze: "She was a miko of this village and the guardian of the Jewel of Four Souls. She died fifty years ago, protecting the Jewel."
Inuyasha felt his blood run cold when he heard that particular piece of information and gulped slightly.
"She died… protecting the Jewel?"
"Ay."
"And now… you want me to protect it in her stead?"
"Ye are the only one who can do it."
[/T]
The black haired boy didn't answer, but he paled considerably at the answer. He might have been strong and brave by his school's standards, but in just one night he learned that wherever he was, here when someone told you that you could die doing something, it meant the chances were rather high if you aren't careful. And death wasn't something Inuyasha was looking forward to at the young age of fifteen.
"Why me?" he asked rather pathetically. It was meant to be more of a rhetorical question than anything else really, but Kaede answered him nevertheless.
"Ye have had it in your possession, which means ye have been protecting it up until now. And only ye have enough spiritual power to keep the Jewel pure."
Inuyasha sighed in defeat. What had he done to deserve this? Up until yesterday night he was but a regular boy going to school and in just one night, he found himself in a world overflowing with demons where one had to fight for their life. And, to top things off, he was designed against his will to be a protector of some weird Jewel. When he said he wanted his life to be less boring, this hadn't been quite what he meant. 'I just want to go home. Go home and live like I used to,' he thought, but fate had apparently something else in store for him.
"What does the Jewel need protection from anyway?" he asked weakly as he glanced at the gem that was now hanging around his neck like some sort of necklace.
"Yōkai mostly. But some humans may come after it as well desiring its power. Ye need to be very careful from now on," Kaede responded as calmly as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Well, maybe it was for her, but definitely not for Inuyasha. The boy blanched even more, if that was even possible. How was he supposed to fight off things like that centipede from a few hours ago? He would get killed in no time!
Noticing the change in his demeanor, but misunderstanding it completely and chalking it up to the effects of blood loss due to the wound, Kaede tried to reassure him with a warm smile.
"Ye should get some rest child and give that wound some time to heal."
"My name's Inuyasha, not 'child'," he replied half-heartedly, still in shock about all the information he'd been given. But he obediently lay down on the futon Kaede prepared for him and despite his anxiety and the throbbing wound in his side, he fell asleep in a matter of minutes, the exhaustion caused by all that has happened that day finally catching up to him.
~ξ~
Three days later found him already on his feet and in a much better mood. He still wished to get home of course, especially each time he thought about how worried his mother must be, but he felt better about the whole protecting-the-Jewel issue.
He started to think that Kaede had strongly exaggerated when she said many demons would come after the Jewel. From such a warning, he had been expecting at least one attack a day. But so far, everything was calm. Almost suspiciously calm as Kaede had once said, but he chalked it up to her being paranoid.
His wound was healing well too, though Kaede told him to still be careful, for the risk of it reopening still existed as the flesh over the deep cuts was still tender and could easily tear again. That was the least of his worries though. He was much more worried about finally finding a way home. He had spent these last three days contemplating just that.
From what he remembered, he had fallen into the well at his shrine, but had climbed out of the well here. So it would be safe to assume, Inuyasha figured, that he had somehow come here through the well. And if that was the case, then logic suggested he could also come back through the well.
Unfortunately, he had yet to test that theory. Since Kaede hadn't had the opportunity yet to teach him to use his spiritual powers, which she explained were what allowed him to blast off the centipede's arm, the old miko refused to let him into the woods on his own, claiming it was full of demons that were just waiting for their chance to get the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha had a hard time believing her though. If the forest really was so full of demons who wanted to posses the weird gem he was forced to 'protect' and 'keep pure', why didn't they just try to come and get it? Why did they stay in the forest?
It were these kinds of thoughts that had him sneaking out of the village on the fourth day as Kaede went to tend to some of her duties yet again. What those duties were, he never asked, but he didn't really care either. What he knew was that the old priestess was always occupied and thus couldn't accompany him to the forest where the well, his possible way home, was and refused to let him go on his own. Well, no more. He'd had enough of this place. It was time for him to go home, his mother has worried enough about him.
Sneaking out of the village and getting to the forest was actually a lot easier than he thought. Most likely because the villagers actually saw him leaving (which he wasn't aware of), but unlike Kaede didn't think it necessary to stop him. They weren't aware of his poor (if none at all) ability to use his spiritual power and thus suspected he would be just fine on his own now that his wound was mostly healed.
When he reached the first trees of the Inuyasha no Mori, the black haired boy couldn't help but feel apprehensive. It was in this forest that he had his first true encounter with a demon and it was also in this forest that he met the infuriating yōkai-girl, Kagome (at least, he assumed she was a yōkai). Overall, the forest held no pleasant memories for him.
Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, Inuyasha strode purposefully into the forest, intent on finding the well and testing his theory. Logically, if the well brought him here, it could also bring him home, he was almost sure of that. The only problem was to actually find the well in the thick wilderness of the forest. 'It had been close to the Goshinboku, in a clearing,' Inuyasha reminded himself as he looked around. He could see the Sacred Tree standing proudly above any other trees to his left, which meant that if he continued further down the path he was following, he would soon come to the well.
A sudden noise in the bushes to his right made Inuyasha stop dead in his tracks. Had he been discovered? Had Kaede followed him out here when she noticed he had vanished?
He was proven wrong when a small squirrel came out from beneath a thick bush and Inuyasha scoffed at himself and turned to leave in the direction where he believed the well was. He didn't even get a step further down the path, however, when something sprang at him from the same bushes the squirrel had been in and before he knew what was happening, he was tackled to the ground by a rather small but no less powerful humanoid thing about as tall as him and quite a bit thinner.
The creature had pinned his arms to the ground with his own holding him at the elbows, while its knees made sure Inuyasha wouldn't kick him away. It was smiling disgustingly and the black haired boy grimaced in disgust before a much more common feeling took over: anger.
"Get the Hell off!" he yelled as he bend his elbows and grabbed the creature by its arms, much more efficiently than it was holding him, and tried to throw it off. The thing, however, was holding on tight and it seemed like it wasn't planning to let him go. It kept hissing something at him too, but Inuyasha was too focused on trying to get free to attempt to understand what it was saying.
He finally managed to throw the creature off himself when it made the distinct mistake of letting go of one of his arms. It had probably done it with the intention of grabbing his neck, Inuyasha realized, but since one of his hands was now completely free, he decided to use it to get the weird creature, probably another yōkai, off of his person. And as he slammed his palm into the creatures face, sudden blue light emitted from his palm like it had a few days prior – though this time it wasn't in the form of lightning - and the creature was knocked backwards.
Inuyasha sat up slowly, hoping it was over. His head snapped up, though, when he heard a furious hiss. The creature was not too far away from him, a furious expression on its burned face. The burn mark, Inuyasha noticed, was in the form of his palm.
Next thing the black haired boy knew, the creature leaped in his direction much faster than he ever expected it to be able to move. There was no way he could dodge the incoming attack, so he just closed his eyes and waited to the monsters slimy fingers to close over his throat and end his life. But it never happened. Instead he heard a surprised a squeak followed by the distinct sound of something sharp tearing through flesh, then silence.
Cracking one eye open, Inuyasha soon snapped both his eyes open and took a surprised look at what had happened. Before him, crouched in what he supposed was some sort of battle-position was a person in a red kimono, with long silver hair and a pair of dog-ears on the top of her head. She was crouching on both her legs and one hand, her other claw being bent in front of her face as if she was shielding herself from something. Looking closely though, he saw that this same claw was stained with blood and that the weird creature that was attacking him a moment ago was lying lifelessly a few feet away from the Inuyasha, its body bloodied and its torso torn by four deep claw-marks which seemed to get deeper the closer they got to the creature's heart. Where the heart itself was supposed to be, Inuyasha noticed only a hole as if the organ had been clawed out in one clean swipe along with the cuts that adorned the bloody corpse.
The silver haired girl slowly stood up from her crouched position as she regarded her would-be opponent before scoffing.
"Weakling," he heard her mutter with disgust under her breath as she turned around and glance at him as she whipped her hand clean with a leaf she must have picked up from the ground. Inuyasha couldn't help but gulp slightly when their eyes met, for her scowl was truly intimidating. Her features softened slightly as she closed her eyes and sighed, resting her forehand on one of her hands as if in defeat.
"What kind of idiot are you?" she asked sharply as she brought her head up again to stare at him. "What kind of idiot comes out here without a weapon?"
Inuyasha felt his anger rising and he clenched his fists. The black haired boy made a move to stand so that he wouldn't have to look up at her while yelling, but he never got that far as sudden pain literally exploded in his side. Hissing loudly, he clenched his eyes shut and leaned forward as one of his hands automatically covered the offended area, as if a simple touch could block out the pain. Needless to say it helped him only in noticing that some sticky substance was staining his shirt and hand, but the pain was so intense he couldn't manage to open his eyes to see what it was.
Kagome's glanced at him somewhat worriedly when she saw his behavior, but she frowned when she smelt blood in the air. Human blood. Meaning it had to come from him. 'But that yōkai never got close to hurting him. I'm positive it didn't,' she thought as she regarded him and then her eyes widened in realization. Wasn't the place he was covering the one where the centipede bit him the other day? Kagome sighed. It looked like the idiot managed to reopen the wound… big time. No wonder he was in pain. Reopening a yōkai bite (or any other wound inflicted by a yōkai to be honest) tended to sting. The half-demon knew that from harsh experience.
'He needs to have this looked at,' Kagome thought and clenched her fists. Sure, that much was certain, but she wasn't really a specialist on handling wounds especially in the middle of the forest. She needed to get Kaede. But considering the idiotic boy had the Jewel with him, if she left him alone, there was a big chance a yōkai would finish what the oni started and get the Jewel. She could allow neither his death, nor some rouge yōkai to take the Jewel. That left only one possibility.
'Damn… since when does a reopening wound hurt so fucking much? It's like my side's being torn to shreds,' Inuyasha thought as he sat there on the ground. He heard movement in front of him before he felt himself being lifted gently and next thing he knew, he was leaning on something soft and hard at once. It was kind of warm too. And if the feeling of swaying slightly he felt was anything to go by, it was moving.
Forcing his eyes to open, he was greeted by the sight of quickly passing trees and something red in the very border of his vision.
"What…?" he didn't manage to finish the question as he hissed in pain again as his side reminded him why he normally shouldn't be able to move on his own. Come to think of it, he wasn't. But then, why were the trees passing him so quickly?
"Don't you dare comment on it or I'll drop you right here and now," a familiar, female voice spoke in front of him and slightly below. Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha turned his head slightly and opened his eyes once more, this time to see the back of a familiar silver haired head in front of him. It took him but a second to finally comprehend what was going on.
Kagome was carrying him on her back.
He couldn't help the anger and humiliation that rose inside him. He wanted to yell at her to let him down, he could walk just fine on his own. But then another wave of pain shot through him and suddenly, the prospect of her dropping him like she said she would wasn't as appealing anymore. This didn't help his wounded pride any though. Since when does a guy get a piggy back ride from a girl his age? Hell, since when does he need protection from anyone, let alone a girl? It was unheard of. It never happened before and it was never supposed to happen at all. He was the guy, he was supposed to protect the girl if anything. Not that he would ever protect this particular, infuriating girl. Not if his life depended on it.
Inuyasha was so lost in his angry thoughts that he didn't notice when Kagome arrived at the village, much less when she entered Kaede's hut. Until he got dropped to the ground, that is. Well, not entirely dropped, though Kagome seriously felt like doing just that. Still, he was hurt and he was just human, which meant he couldn't stomach pain like she could. He felt it a lot more and whether he liked it or not, he was a lot more susceptible to it than Kagome was. So the hanyō gently knelt on the ground and shook her passenger off her back as gently as she could to make it as painless for him as hanyō-ly possible.
"What happened?" Kaede asked as Kagome stood up again and dusted herself off, as if to show that the 'luggage' she'd brought was nothing but trouble. She scoffed in annoyance.
"I found the idiot in the forest. No idea where he wanted to go, but wherever it was, he would have never gotten there. An oni attacked him. I cut it up. He didn't get hurt by it… though I think he busted an old wound," she said as she walked past Kaede and towards the door, obviously intending to leave again. "You know healing isn't really my forte, so I brought him here. I leave him in your capable hands," the hanyō added and smiled slightly before pushing aside the mat that was the makeshift door and was about to leave when Kaede spoke.
"Why don't ye stay a little longer, Kagome? This old priestess could use some company from the past," she said as she prepared what she needed and motioned for Inuyasha to remove his shirt.
Kagome froze and then looked over her shoulder at the elder priestess. Her eyes held sadness Kaede had certainly never seen before, of that the hanyō was sure, and it explained why the old priestess could only stare back for a few precious seconds. Kagome's eyes had always been the windows to her soul, at least to the people she allowed them to be, but this was the first time the old woman saw that kind of look in the hanyō's eyes.
"I thought I have overstayed my welcome," Kagome said quietly as she turned to leave again. This time, it was Kaede's turn to freeze as she slowly turned to look at Kagome's back. She tried to understand the hanyō before her, but she couldn't fathom what could possibly make her think that. As if reading her thoughts, Kagome continued. "Kikyo made that rather clear."
Kaede's eyes widened in realization. Of course, Kagome would be thinking about what happened that day. After all, it might have been fifty years, but for the half-demon-girl it felt probably like just yesterday. She had slept through those fifty years after all. The old priestess couldn't help but sigh as she stared at Kagome's back. But the girl didn't leave. It was like she was waiting for Kaede to answer.
Inuyasha stayed silent during the entire conversation. Frankly, he felt kind of like he'd been forgotten, but oddly enough it didn't bother him. But then again, if he said he wasn't intrigued by the exchange of words in front of him, he'd be lying. The pain wasn't so overwhelming anymore anyway, so it was easily ignored as violet eyes traveled from the red clad back to the miko and then back again. Finally, Kaede broke the silence.
"Ye are always welcome here, Kagome-nee-san," the old miko said quietly and Kagome turned around so quickly Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder how she didn't lose her balance. Silver hair whipped around her face as she turned to fall over her chest and then slide back over her shoulder into its original position again. Golden eyes stared at Kaede for a fraction of a second before the girl chuckled softly.
"It has been a long time since you called me that, Kaede," she responded softly, ignoring Inuyasha's surprised stare completely. The black haired boy's eyes moved from one woman to the other in wonder, not believing what he just heard. These two were… sisters? He would have never thought that possible. Just how much difference in age was there between them anyway? No, he must have heard wrong. They couldn't be sisters. But then, why did Kaede call the other girl 'nee-san'?
"Why don't you stay and help me, Kagome-nee-san?" Kaede asked again with a slight twinkle in her eyes and Kagome chuckled again, her gloomy mood vanishing completely. It felt kind of weird to be called 'older sister' again, especially since she looked nothing like an older sister to Kaede, but more like her daughter or granddaughter… but then again, when did they ever care about looks? The three of them had always been a weird family. She just guessed it was doomed to stay that way. She sighed as she sobered up.
"I doubt he'd allow me to as much as touch him," she said without looking at Inuyasha. Sure, she had carried him here and that counted as touch, but he had little say in the matter. This time however, it wasn't needed, and she doubted he would trust her to do anything near him. When she met Kaede's eyes however, she couldn't help but smile. "But you win, Kaede-chan, I'll stay."
And with that she sat on the ground Indian style, leaning against the wall as she observed Kaede working on Inuyasha with a gentle smile. Kaede herself was smiling too, her eyes shining as if in a far off, happy memory. And considering the atmosphere that now reigned in the hut, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel like he was watching a happy family. And that thought reminded him of his mother and he felt the now very familiar wave of guilt hitting him again. Once again, he noted that he needed to get home as soon as he could. But just like the other times, he also noted he didn't know how. And while he had a theory, he was slowly starting to realize that it may be harder to test it out than he had originally thought. He bit back a groan as his shoulders slumped, though neither of the females seemed to notice, both lost in their own little worlds as Kaede fixed him up without even thinking about it. Inuyasha closed his eyes in defeat. 'How goddamn it am I supposed to get home?' he thought darkly.
~ξ~
Kagome glanced over at the dark haired boy who had fallen asleep sometime during her ongoing conversation with Kaede thanks to some medical potion the priestess had given him. She narrowed her golden eyes as she studied him. She couldn't help but be intrigued by him. He was just so… mysterious, for lack of a better word.
"Since when is he in the village?" she finally asked. There was no more small talk to make to catch up for the past fifty years, so now Kagome decided to finally satisfy her curiosity. If Kaede could answer her questions, anyway.
"He isn't from this village," Kaede replied. "He had lost his way and was looking for his way home when we found him by the God Tree the same day he freed you, shortly after daybreak."
"And you just believed it when he said he lost his way?" Kagome asked. It wasn't really that she didn't believe it herself, his behavior and strange clothing would sure be explained if he was from some faraway place. But for humans, and even more for priestesses to believe what strangers told them in suspicious situations such as the one Kaede described was unheard of to say the least.
"There was just something about him that told me he wasn't lying. And had I not believed him, ye might not have awakened, so I do not regret having believed him."
Kagome huffed in response.
"I guess I owe him then," she said as she closed her eyes in annoyance.
"But ye saved his life twice already. I believe ye repaid the debt," the old priestess answered and Kagome couldn't help but smile slightly.
"You know I would have helped him either way," she replied. That was just who she was. She had been that way for a very long time and old habits die hard. "So, do you know where he's from?"
"He said he came from a place called Tokyo," Kaede replied and Kagome raised an eyebrow in silent question. The old miko sighed. "I have never heard of such a place either," she replied as she glanced at the sleeping boy as well. "But I assume it's probably far away from here. It must be, for according to him, there are no yōkai where he comes from."
Kagome's eyes widened slightly at this revelation before a thoughtful look settled on the hanyō's features. It would make sense, she figured, considering how weak he was, at least according to her. Sure, he could get stronger but right now he was the weakest of the weak. How a weakling like him could have protected the Jewel when it was inside his body had been beyond her up until now. But if where he came from there were truly no yōkai then it was possible. But did such a place even exist?
"You said you found him by the God Tree… the tree I was pinned to?" she asked. Kaede nodded in response and Kagome pinched her nose between two fingers in thought. This had to mean that wherever he came from, it was in the direction of the forest. If she thought about it, it might actually have been where he was headed this morning before that oni attacked him.
"His way home… I think it may lead through the forest," she finally said. "And I think he knows it too."
"Do ye mean the Inuyasha no Mori, Kagome?" the old priestess asked and Kagome nodded, ignoring that the priestess referred to the forest as hers.
"Next time he wants to go to the forest, let him go," the hanyō said seriously. "I'll make sure he gets wherever it is he wants to go without getting into trouble. I think he has an idea how to get wherever it is he came from. And it would be better he went there."
"What of the Jewel?"
"He protected it without knowing he even had it. I think that's proof enough that so long as he stays where he came from, where he said himself no yōka existi, he can keep the Jewel safe. If he were to stay here, he would only be brought in unnecessary danger."
Kaede didn't respond as she eyed the half demon before her and smiled. Kagome truly hadn't changed and it never ceased to amaze Kaede how caring the hanyō could be. She barely knew the black haired boy sleeping not even five meters away from her, yet already she was looking out for him and trying to keep him safe. It was truly like her. It was what earned her the title of the Inuyasha in this village: she always looked out for others and protected those weaker than herself. Though how she could develop such a kind heart despite of what she had to have gone through considering what she was Kaede didn't know. But she didn't feel it was her place to ask, so she never did either.
Suddenly, Kagome sat up straight from her rather relaxed position and started sniffing the air intensely. In less than half a minute, she was on her feet again and had turned towards the exit, her claws flexing reflexively without her noticing.
"I should get going," she said, looking over her shoulder at Kaede. "But I will be back," she added with a smile and before the old priestess could say anything, she had leaped away. Kaede narrowed her eyes as her suspicions had been confirmed. She had felt the demonic aura near the village. Kagome must have smelt the demons and reacted immediately. It was almost like she was waiting for some demons to show up. Which was to be expected because of the Jewel's presence in the vicinity. Frankly, the last three days had been way too calm and not only in Kaede's opinion, but the villagers' as well. And now, she knew for certain why it was so calm. Kagome had been keeping the demons at bay. She was standing guard in the forest and didn't allow any demon near, probably because she knew that Inuyasha was neither in the state nor had the ability to fend them off on his own. So she had kept the trouble away from him. From them all. And she would undoubtedly continue to do it until the danger was gone – until the Shikon Jewel was gone.
Kaede sighed as she stood up and slowly left the hut and walked towards the small shrine that held her sisters, Kikyo's, remains. She had left something there and she knew now was the time to bring it out. It was time her sister's other wish was fulfilled.
"She's always protecting us, Kaede, even more fiercely when I cannot fulfill my duty," Kikyo's voice echoed in her head as she stood in front of the grave. She bowed once in respect before moving to the small shrine behind it, the shrine where the Shikon no Tama had once been held, and entered it swiftly. Just as she expected, the object she was looking for was still there, still looking new despite having fifty years of collecting dust behind it. The old priestess smiled as she took it in her hand, the familiar feeling of Kikyo's spiritual power flowing through her fingers. The spell was still working. "It's only fair that I protect her in one way or another as well, even when she isn't here. She deserves that much don't you think?"
Kikyo was right and Kaede never objected to it. She just regretted her sister couldn't pass the gift to Kagome herself. But as fate would have it, Kikyo was never given the time or possibility to do it. Kaede sighed as she thought back on that day again. She still didn't fully understand what had happened. One moment, she was being protected by her 'sister' like so many times before, the next, Kikyo had sealed her to the God Tree before dying with the regret of having done it in her heart. But what had compelled her sister to shoot that fateful arrow at Kagome in the first place? Kaede had thought about it a lot in those fifty years, but she could never come up with an answer. And she could tell Kagome knew just as much.
"I'm not weak!" a male shout brought Kaede out of her musings and the priestess noted she had walked back to her hut without even noticing. And by what she could hear, Inuyasha had woken up. And as Kaede soon found out, Kagome had returned as well.
"And yet you still needed a 'stupid girl', as you put it, to save your sorry ass," was the next thing she heard. That was definitely Kagome's voice, of that there was no doubt.
"I didn't need your help!"
"Oh really? Then would you rather I let that thing hit you before it choked you to death? Believe me, that's what it was planning and by the looks of you when it was about to happen, you weren't exactly going to do anything to stop it."
Silence followed next as Inuyasha refused to answer. Entering the hut, Kaede saw Kagome looking at him with a smug look on her face while Inuyasha glared at the wall on the other side of the hut, refusing to look the half-demon in the eye.
"I'd have thought of something," he finally huffed in annoyance and Kaede noticed that the hanyō was working hard to contain her laughter.
"Whatever you say. I'll just leave you to die next time then."
"There won't be a next time, damn it!" Inuyasha yelled back. "It just caught me by surprise. It got lucky!"
"Sure it did, just like that centipede the other day that bit the Jewel out of you. Literally."
"Can't ye be left alone for five minutes without jumping at each other's throats?" Kaede interrupted before Inuyasha could say anything to respond to the half-demon. He just huffed in annoyance and turned away. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Kagome was right. She saved him twice now. But it was all wrong! Since when does the guy need saving? Better even, since when is a guy saved by a girl? It just didn't happen. But as humiliating as it was, it had happened to him twice already and he had to admit it was because she was stronger than him. And as she said herself, he was weak, at least in her point of view. Hell, he started to see himself as weak as well by now. How can he think himself strong if a girl saves him twice? But Hell would freeze over before he admitted that aloud, especially to the aggravating girl in front of him.
"Maybe if he didn't jump to conclusions so quickly we would," Kagome replied with a smile and he huffed again.
"Just shut up, wench," he growled and proceeded to ignore her, thus not noticing the amused smile on Kagome's face. Kaede arched an eyebrow but decided not to ask any further questions. Instead, she fixed Kagome with a serious stare, one that had the hanyō sobering up instantly and spoke calmly.
"I have something for ye," she said and as Kagome titled her head questioningly to the side, she held out the object she had retrieved from the shrine. "Kikyo wanted ye to have it," she said as she saw golden eyes widen before Kagome slowly took the object in her hands carefully as if afraid she would break it.
It was a straight longbow, made of a carefully selected hewn and dried catalpa sapling with a hand-wrapped grip, that Kagome easily identified as a Saigu-Yumi(1), a priestess bow. The only thing that made it different from such were the magatama(2) tied to it at both ends of the grip and at the top of the bow, where the magatama were actually what the string was attached to. Kagome stared at the bow for a long while before finally looking up at Kaede with wide eyes.
"Kikyo… wanted me to have this?" she asked in a disbelieving tone and let her eyes wander back to the weapon as Kaede nodded. "But… this is a priestess bow… Scratch that, it's her priestess bow. Why would she want me to have it? Wouldn't it be better in your hands? It would gain strength that way, wouldn't it(3)?"
"It would," Kaede agreed. "But my sister wanted ye to have it. She wanted it to protect ye when that time of the month came. And even at other times, she thought it might come in handy. She wanted to protect ye, like ye protected us."
Kagome just stared for a long while at the bow as if not comprehending its meaning. In reality, her mind truly couldn't wrap itself around it all. 'Kikyo wanted to… protect… me?' she thought dumbly. It was hard to believe. Not only because of what had happened the last time she saw Kikyo, and that for reasons she still didn't understand, but also because for a long while, no one had ever thought of protecting her. Quite the contrary in fact: she had always been the protector, never the protected… She was more like the hunted one.
But then again, it would explain the magatama attached to the bow. The hanyō could feel familiar spiritual power surrounding them. It was Kikyo's spiritual power, of that there was no doubt. So the miko had fueled the bow with her spiritual powers… but in order to do what exactly? That Kagome couldn't figure out. Still, as she kept looking at the bow, she couldn't help but smile slightly as she fought the urge to cry. 'I'll just have to figure that out as I use it,' she figured as she blinked a few stray tears away. How she wished she could meet Kikyo again, just one more time. To thank her. And to clear things up between them, for the last time they saw each other was now more confusing than anything else. And it got only more confusing the more she thought about it.
"Thank you, Kaede," she finally said, deciding not to call her as she used to for she definitely wasn't the small girl she remembered anymore, as she looked up. Then she let her eyes fall to the ground. "Could you tell me where she is? I'd… like to talk to her."
Inuyasha, who was by then completely forgotten by the two females in the hut, raised an eyebrow. Didn't Kaede say Kikyo had died? So then how could that weird girl ask where she was? Especially since as far as he remembered, she had been told of Kaede's sister's demise. Asking things like that just didn't make sense…
"Ye will find her in front of the shrine that once housed the Shikon Jewel," Kaede replied, and after nodding in thanks and gently leaning the bow against the wall next to the quiver of Hamaya(4) that Kaede had also given her along with the bow, Kagome swiftly left the hut and leapt towards said shrine. Inuyasha stared after her for a while before turning to Kaede.
"I thought Kikyo was dead?" he voiced his thoughts and Kaede sighed.
"She is," the old priestess replied and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.
"So then, how's the wench gonna talk to her?"
"She went to her resting place to speak to her soul."
Had Inuyasha been anyone else, he might have laughed at the idea. It wasn't as though he believed it was possible to talk to a deceased person's soul when one stood at their grave. He didn't believe it. But his mother did. He saw her often standing in front of the graves of his grandfather and of his father. And she talked to them too, as if persuaded they could hear her.
"How is your wound?" Kaede asked and he blinked as he snapped out of his reverie. The black haired boy shrugged.
"It's fine," he replied gruffly. It wasn't hurting anymore and as far as he could tell, it wasn't even bleeding. But noticing that made him wonder how Kaede could manage that, given the pain he had been in not even two hours ago.
"Ye should still be careful," Kaede replied, not asking for any details. "If it opens up again, ye might not be as lucky. Such a wound gets more and more severe each time it reopens." Inuyasha's eyes widened when he heard that particular piece of information. Well, it would certainly explain why it had hurt so damn much when it reopened last time. But how come it got more dangerous when it reopened? Wasn't it supposed to be at least partly healed in such a situation? So then, even if it reopened, it should be less grave than it originally was. Why was this wound any different? Was it because it was dealt by a yōkai?
Lost in his thoughts, Inuyasha didn't notice when Kagome returned to the hut with a half-smile on her face, showing how sad she was even though she tried to cover it up. She didn't regret going to Kikyo though. In fact, the conversation made her feel better.
It was as if Kikyo not only heard her, but also answered her. A few times, the hanyō even had the illusion of hearing her voice, asking for forgiveness. Forgiveness Kagome was more than willing to give, though she still didn't understand why the miko had done what she did. But she figured that was a mystery she would never uncover, so she let it go.
A comfortable silence took over the hut as both, human and hanyō were lost in their own little worlds while Kaede moved about doing this thing or another. But the peace was suddenly interrupted as Inuyasha shot to his feet as if burned and made a run for the door. Golden eyes snapped open at the sudden movement and a clawed hand reached out to effectively stop the human boy. He turned and glared at her, his scowl telling the girl to let go, but she was not one to be intimidated by the likes of him, even if he was a kannushi.
"Where are you going?" she asked calmly, completely unfazed by the glare he sent at her. The glare, he noted, that had everyone at home backing away from him in fright. But she wasn't fazed by it. And though he knew she was strong, the fact that she was a girl still remained. The thought of a girl standing up to him and defending him like she had done twice before still didn't sit well with him.
"Home," he replied shortly, almost growled even. Kagome raised an eyebrow at the half-threat, wondering if he was even aware that he was sort of challenging her. Had she been any other Inuyōkai, she might have even smirked and said she accepted his challenge. It didn't matter what he said right now. What mattered was, he was growling, or almost anyway. It was as if he were challenging her to stop him. But Kagome knew better than that. He was human after all. He probably didn't know what his petty imitation of a growl meant.
Inuyasha just kept glaring at her when the half-demon-girl refused to let him go. Truth be told, he was now even more in a hurry to get home than before, for thinking about how his mother had talked to his grandfather and his father at their graves made him think of something else entirely. And it wasn't a thought he liked.
After all, he'd been gone for four days now without a trace and without any kind of word to his mother. So what was the poor woman supposed to think? After all, even if Tokyo was big, the police should have found him by now had he been anywhere in the city, which he quite obviously wasn't. That made the search a whole lot more difficult. And Inuyasha was well aware that a search going on for a certain amount of time without any lead whatsoever was closed rather soon, the person presumed dead.
He couldn't allow his mother to 'lose' another part of her family. He was the only one she had left. He couldn't leave her. He had to get home. Right now!
He heard a sigh and he blinked himself back to reality as Kagome stood up, still not letting go of his arm. He huffed.
"You're not going with me," he stated immediately, though whatever compelled him to think she wanted to, he didn't know. The cool glare she sent his way also told him he had just made a fool out of himself. But then why wouldn't she finally let go?
Losing his patience, Inuyasha decided to try and wrench himself out of her grasp, but his attempt was stopped before he even started as a bow was presented to him and the hanyō let him go.
"Take it," she said and it took Inuyasha a moment to realize that the bow she was offering was the one Kikyo had wanted her to have. The black haired boy just stared at her dumbly before he shook his head. He might not be fond of the girl and he didn't know this Kikyo person either, but he wasn't one to disrespect a dead person's last wish.
"Kikyo wanted you to have it," he said simply as he turned to go, but Kagome swiftly grabbed his shirt and forced him to turn around again as she held the weapon out to him, almost shoving it into his hands.
"I'm not giving it to you," she growled and for the first time since he met her, Inuyasha was truly intimidated by her. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a fierce scowl and there was a fire in her eyes that almost made him back away from her. "You're borrowing it for the walk through the forest. Except if you want to get killed on the way. I'll get it back when you no longer need it, just leave it somewhere when you get where you need to go."
Inuyasha scowled but he had to admit that the girl in front of him was right. From the three excursions in the forest he had so far, he figured going there without a weapon was a stupid idea. But then again, a bow wouldn't help him much. He had never held a bow in his life, much less used one. He supposed it was better than nothing, though.
Sighing, he reached out and closed his hand over the wood of the bow, accepting it with a curt nod. As soon as his hand touched the sacred bow, however, Kagome could feel a sudden surge of power run into it. A weird, tickling feeling rose in the hand she held the bow with and spread throughout her entire body, making it impossible to move for a few milliseconds. When the feeling ceased, she released the bow and had to fight the urge to observe her claws to see if anything had changed. She sure felt different than a few seconds before, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint what had changed. She didn't say anything though as neither Kaede nor Inuyasha seemed to notice anything. The human boy just nodded in her direction once, what she figured was his way of saying thank you and farewell before he left the hut. Kagome stared after him for a while before sighing and sitting beside the wall again, leaning against it like before as if nothing had happened.
"He needs a head start. I'll go after him and catch up in a few minutes," she answered Kaede's unasked question, for she knew that even if the boy had a weapon, it would be better if someone still looked after him for the time of the trip. To have a weapon didn't necessarily mean he was able to use it after all. In reality, Kagome just let him borrow it to make him believe she wouldn't follow, since he obviously didn't want her tagging along. Not that she could blame him. She was hanyō after all, and while he said there were no yōkai (and thus probably no hanyō either) where he came from, it certainly didn't mean he didn't know what yōkai were or what kind of 'abominations' hanyō were. It would explain why he always tried to insult her, why he fought with her at least verbally and why he definitely didn't want her anywhere near him as he had showed her already more than once. And though she was kind of used to that by now, being treated like that still stung. She sighed and glanced out the window before standing up, unwillingly stopping Kaede from asking what was wrong all of a sudden. It was time to go catch up.
Following Inuyasha's scent, Kagome had more than quickly enough caught up to said human and immediately set to work as she decapitated the first yōkai that was quite obviously planning to attack the human boy. This time however, he was much more careful she realized and a few times she had to stop in her tracks herself to make sure he didn't notice her presence. But he never did.
This time there weren't even that many yōkai around, so the 'journey' through the Inuyasha no Mori (Kagome still wondered why the villagers would call it that) was rather uneventful and Kagome quickly found out just where Inuyasha was headed. She raised an eyebrow at his destination, but was certain it was there since he had already put her bow and arrows away, quite obviously deciding to leave them behind. 'The Bone Eater's Well?' Kagome wondered when she saw him glance into the waterless hole and apparently preparing to jump. Was he really going to jump in there? What was he thinking?
'Then again… It's said that demon bones thrown into that well disappear, hence the name. But… I never actually wondered where those bones would disappear to. Now that I think about it, they have to go somewhere. But, does that mean this well is some kind of way to another place… to Inuyasha's home?' Kagome wondered as she observed the human below her. She saw him step onto the rim of the well, his fists clenched beside him as if he had doubts. And then he jumped.
What happened next almost made the half-demon fall out of the tree she was standing in. She was half expecting to hear a curse from the well when the boy hit the ground. But instead, a bright, violet light shone from the inside, almost blinding her sensitive eyes for a while even though she wasn't gazing straight into the light. As soon as it appeared, it vanished again. Blinking and feeling somewhat curious now, Kagome jumped down from the tree and approached the well wearily. Placing a hand on the rim, she leaned forward slightly and looked inside.
To her greatest surprise, the human boy was not there. He had vanished.
Kagome smiled as she turned away from the well, happy that he managed to find a way home, for he obviously didn't belong here where danger lurked behind every corner. She nodded to herself as she picked up her new bow and arrows and headed back to the village to share the good news with Kaede that Inuyasha found a way home.
As she walked, she couldn't help but notice a change in the bow and she frowned. The magatama which were fueled with Kikyo's spiritual energy before were now strengthened. Kikyo's energy was still in them, but it wasn't the only energy in there anymore. It took Kagome a moment to realize what exactly was different about the bow now and what that surge of power was she had felt when she had given her bow to Inuyasha.
Having no control of his powers, Inuyasha must have subconsciously used them on the bow when he took it. It was the only way to explain what Kagome felt now, for she doubted he did it on purpose. Question was, even if it was an accident, why would he do it and what exactly did he do?
Kagome shook her head as she decided to ponder that, as well as the question why it even happened, later, if at all. She didn't feel like thinking about all of it now. But one lone thought just refused to leave her head as she held the bow, the thought of what exactly had changed.
Kikyo's bow was now fueled with Inuyasha's spiritual energy as well.
(1) Saigu-Yumi - literally called "Priestess Bow", the Saigu-Yumi is a symmetrical bow based on the Mongolian recurved bow; the bow is said to be one of the oldest and most sacred Japanese weapons; the first Emperor Jimmu is always depicted carrying a bow. In Japan, a Miko will carry a Saigu-Yumi and a set of Hamaya as part of their religious regalia. In Former times, they were used quite literally in defense of the temple.
(2) Magatama - an ancient comma-shaped bead imbued with great spiritual and mystical powers. These beads have been found as far back as the Jomon period (jo-mon-jidai, about 10,000 BC to 300 BC).
(3) In Shinto religion, it is believed that a priestess bow passed down through many generations of mikos is especially powerful since many pure hands have wielded it.
(4) Hamaya - A quiver full of Hamaya along with the traditional red Saigu-Yumi (literally Priestess Bow) is part of the religious accouterments of a Shinto Miko.
The End.
Nah, just kidding. Inuyasha might have gone back home, but this story is just getting started XD
As I said, the original stuff started here, and I hope you liked it. Virtual cookies to someone who can figure out what exactly happened when Kagome and Inuyasha both held the bow LOL Come on, it's not that hard is it?
Anyway, I really hope this was to your liking and that it lived up to your expectations. Please leave a review and tell me? Well, see ya all next time :3
Next Chapter: When the Jewel's Awake
See you then.