Chapter Six: Strength

Balance.

Her life consisted of balance. The balance between her education, personal life, and her job as a spiritual enforcer. Kikyou had a lot on her plate, but she didn't allow it to bother her. She worked in a field that didn't allow her the pleasure to falter for even a second. Even now as she stood in the rubble that used to be the museum, her face was that of a statue, still and cold. Her eyes surveyed the scene that lay before her. The violent explosion had left nothing but rubble and flames in its aftermath. When she first arrived on the scene, she couldn't believe that just a couple of hours ago she had stood where only debris remained. The pieces of history that she had ogled and the hall she walked along with him was gone, just like that.

Though that was life, wasn't it? Good things never lasted.

"Sense anything, Kikyou?" A man's voice drew her out of her thoughts. "I can tell you this, next time they call me out this late for an arson case, I better be fighting a fire demon."

Kikyo didn't want to agree with him, but it was late. It was two in the morning when she got the call to report in, and looking at the time on her watch it was already three. Arson cases were usually dealt with by the regular police force, but the spiritual force was called out because Chief Hitomiko believed that something could be amiss. The thing about Chief Hitomiko was that she was never wrong, and that was why Kikyou was there instead of snug in bed.

"No, nothing yet," Kikyou replied as she walked further into the destroyed landscape that was the former site of the museum.

Concentrating on the soles of her feet, her spiritual power blanketed the area around her. If there was even a hint of demonic aura, then that would mean foul play. The man walked a few steps behind her, the cold spring air whipping his bangs aside to reveal a four-pointed star tattoo.

"This is so boring! Why didn't they get the sensory team out here?" the man complained almost like a child. "Come on Kikyou, it's just a gas leak. Let's call it a night and head home!"

It was like he was purposely trying her patience. Each time he opened his mouth, she wanted to shove something in it to shut him up. Luckily for him, the task at hand kept her focused on other things rather than shoving an arrow down his throat. Each time the rubble crumbled underneath her feet, she felt a little more at ease. This could be the day where Hitomiko was finally wrong and she could use that—

The next step she took felt as if someone took a knife to her foot. Kikyou let out a sharp gasp as her body took a reflective step back. The rubble collapsed underneath her and she felt herself fall, but before she could even hit the ground, she was caught by a strong arm. She looked up to see the man with cobalt eyes stare into the distance, one hand wrapped tightly around the handle of his halberd and the other around her. His tanned skin stood out under the moonlight and the white suit with blue accents that made up the Spiritual Enforcers uniforms complimented his physique well.

It fit when the people around the office called him, Bankotsu the Lady Killer. However, Kikyou wanted to stay far away from the list of women that fell for his charms and so with a slight push she moved away from his grasp.

"So how strong are we talking?" Bankotsu asked. "You even looked shocked."

Kikyou frowned as she tried to concentrate on the feeling she had gotten. It did shock her, because it wasn't a demon, but something under the trace of power whispered a demonic force was at play.

"It's not a demon," Kikyou concluded out loud. "But it's not pure spiritual power, either."

Kikyou closed her eyes as she tried to decipher the power with her own. Like a braid, her own power unraveled the traces that were left, and everything pointed to another priest's or priestess' power with a dash of something else. Bankotsu watched as Kikyou's face scrunched up, letting that serious case of resting bitch face she always had fall to the side as she struggled to identify the shadow of power that was left behind.

Demons and those blessed with spiritual powers had something of an aura that was distinctively their own, almost like finger prints. Still, in most cases auras were separated by strong and weak. Stronger auras held more power and thus traces of their power sometimes lingered behind. To see Kikyou struggling to place her finger on what was left behind made Bankotsu's heart race, because that meant a strong opponent.

The thought alone made Bankotsu tighten his grip on his halberd.

"Are you guys done yet?" A voice pulled them away from their survey, and Bankotsu could have sworn that the always serious and proper Kikyou uttered a soft curse. They both turned to the voice and saw Naraku Kumo in his black well-tailored suit with his secretary following a few steps behind him. "I'm sorry to inform you, but you guys are halting the cleaning process."

"Sorry that we aren't sorry about that," Bankotsu sneered. "It's our job to dig up any dirt that you demons are hiding."

"Oh, so this is a part of a bigger investigation?" A slight condescending tone made Bankotsu want to punch him. "I heard that Spiritual Enforcers grasp at straws, but this is beyond anything I could imagine."

"We sense a huge amount of spiritual power here," Kikyou finally spoke.

"And?" Naraku's secretary quickly chimed in, not even bothering to look up from her phone. "The museum has many people coming in and out nearly every day. The amount of spiritual power can be from earlier today or any other time."

They were being pushed back and Kikyou didn't like that. There was bad blood between Spiritual Enforcers and demons, which made the working relationship between them all the harder.

The secretary finally looked up from her phone and pushed back her hair. "So, what is it? Can you pinpoint the exact time that this spiritual power was here?" Her red eyes were burning brighter than hell itself. "Because if you can't, I would kindly ask you to leave. My boss has many things to do and being hindered by your kind is not on his schedule."

Naraku chuckled. "Kagura, wherever did you learn to be so blunt? Although she does have a point. I don't have time for the Spiritual Enforcers grasping for any little thing just to get a demon killed or locked away."

Neither Bankotsu nor Kikyou said anything, because in a way that was what they were doing. A grasping of straws to see if anything was particularly demonic, and they ended up getting something completely different: spiritual power. Spiritual power wasn't demonic power, no demonic power meant no demon, so that meant this wasn't their jurisdiction. Naraku was making his stand, if they didn't have anything, they should leave. But Kikyou didn't want to admit defeat. That power just wasn't normal, it had something underneath it. Something that was almost demonic in its essence…

"Sorry, but you need to understand that just last week you reported that someone stole demon bones from the museum storage," Bankotsu reminded him. "And if our reports are correct, those demon bones were supposed to go along with the dark priestess exhibit. Bones as big as you reported don't just magically get up and walk away."

The bones that belonged to the dark priestess exhibit? Kikyou eyes widened as she remembered something. Inuyasha had passed out as soon as he touched it! Could it be?

Naraku smiled as he nodded his head, "About that report, was there a follow up? Was there even someone you could trace?"

Bankotsu gritted his teeth. "No… We are still researching, but—"

"But nothing." Kagura entered the conversation again, her brows furrowed deeply as she pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperated annoyance. "The spiritual enforcers are good at killing demons, not actually helping them. So of course you can't find the demon bones. A child could have done your job better at the rate the tax payers are supporting you."

"Hey!" Bankotsu reached for his sword and at that moment Kagura smirked and reached up to her hair that was held in a messy bun with a feather sticking out.

"The dark priestess!" Kikyou interrupted the spat as she looked over to Naraku. For a moment, she saw it, the way his eyes widened and flickered. She had hit on some target with the priestess. "She escaped, didn't she?"

Bankotsu's eyes widened in shock and fear. "What the hell are you saying!?"

Kikyou ignored Bankotsu's protest as she focused on the mask that had temporarily cracked on Naraku. She wanted to see more behind the mask, however she instantly regretted it. The way he faced her was almost like a snake geared up to strike. Naraku smiled at her, but she could tell that if this was any other setting he would have killed her. Despite all that, this was the reaction she wanted. That meant that in some way she was right. Even if the dark priestess didn't escape, it had to deal with her somehow. She was grasping for straws, but that was what she was good at.

"Is that why there was an explosion? You wanted to cover up your tracks and make sure that no one would find out that she had escaped," Kikyou accused and for a minute Bankotsu looked between the two. He knew what this meant if it was true. That a potential deadly weapon was walking around like it was nothing, and that was the most dangerous thing that could happen right now.

Naraku begun to chuckle and it turned into a full laugh that sent shivers down her spine. He covered his mouth as he tried to quiet his laugh. All it accomplished was making him look insane. He pushed back his hair with the last little chuckle and with eyes that told her to back off, he smiled wide.

"I never understood why spiritual enforcers had children amongst them. But now I think I understand." His eyes turned cruel and he sneered. "It's to waste my time."

His words were like a sharp dagger and she wished she had any excuse to purify him.

Naraku continued, "Even if she had somehow escaped, please tell me what course of action you would take. Alert the public and send them into a panic? Do you even know what she looks like? Are you going to alert everyone in the world to look out for a Japanese woman with long black hair? Oh, and then there's the insanity that is a woman that has been sealed away for five centuries has suddenly decided to wake up. I enjoy a good joke Miss Enforcer, however, this one is clearly not funny."

Kikyou clenched her fist. That was true. They had nothing and just telling someone that they believed a woman that was trapped in amber had woken up and just begun to walk around was ridiculous. No one would believe that. Even if they miraculously got everyone on their side, they could have mass panic among civilians in the streets.

"Though tell me, what would you do?" Naraku pressed on. "What would you do if she was walking free and had wrapped herself around your precious half-demon?"

Kikyou heart leaped into her throat. The thought of Inuyasha getting caught up in this was almost unbearable.

"Her previous partner was a dog demon. Did you know that?" Naraku chuckled at the look on her face. "And look at what happened to him. His bones are lost to the wind and she became a piece of historic art."

"Kikyou? What the hell is going on? Half-demon?" Bankotsu placed his hand on her shoulder as she began to fall deep and deeper into what was going on.

Was Naraku telling her that the priestess was awake? Was she looking for a dog demon? Could Inuyasha be dragged into all of this? The further she fell into her own mind, she felt as though the world around her was crumbling.

"So what would you do Miss Kikyou?"

And that was when her fall stopped and everything fell into pieces. That woman was a dark priestess while she was a priestess that would always uphold the Midoriko way. This was a clear situation of good versus evil, and if she fought her hardest she would win, as good always did, and in the process protect Inuyasha.

She looked at Naraku as if she weren't affected by his words. "It's simple." Her smile was colder than any of his could ever be. "I would kill her to free Inuyasha from whatever hold she has on him."

…

Kagome couldn't tell if the boy in front of her was truthfully a half-demon. The human in him was more apparent than the demon. He had the eyes and ears of a demon, although his claws were trimmed and right now, as she watched him sleep, his nose was questionable. Though Kagome was a priestess she could hide away her scent with her spiritual powers. It was like a mini personal barrier, but that shouldn't have stopped his demon from feeling her. His instincts should have kicked in as soon as she got close to him as he slept. She tried to make sense of it. Her beloved had grown accustomed to her spiritual power, and when they made their pact he admitted to feeling more comfortable fighting alongside her. He didn't have to fear getting accidentally purified or hit by her arrows, they were like one soul fighting.

However, this boy wasn't her beloved, that much was obvious. His claws could hardly be called that and when he talked she could barely see his fangs. The only thing that was particularly demon about him were his ears and eyes. Maybe he wasn't fully a true half-demon? Maybe he was only a quarter? Or even less. The more she studied, the more she grew confused that her beloved's soul was in this body. Kagome sat on the coffee table as she watched his chest fall gently and rise again. He was deep in sleep. She couldn't blame him, she kind of waltzed into his life, and with the responsibility she carried it wasn't like he picked up a random person from the side of the road. This was far more than simple charity.

A twinge of pain in her chest caused her to smile. The gods must be cruel. Not only was she sealed away for five hundred years, but her beloved was gone and replaced by a stranger with his face. If she ignored all the little features that made him different, she could see him again. Sleeping peacefully in front of her, and like in the past she would wake up in the middle of the night to just watch him. The more she thought about it, the more her heart wailed in mourning, but it didn't stop her mind from tumbling to those precious places. The boy's hands were just as big as his, the hands that held her and stroked her back. The chest that rose and fell gently with each breath was almost the same as the chest she had rested her head on for years. Her mind screamed for the sweet release of this torture, but her heart wanted more. In a weird way it wanted to clench itself dry.

When she got to his lips, she could almost see her beloved smirk, and the way his smile would light up the darkest of days for her. She felt her body move without her permission and soon she was hovering over him. Somewhere in her head, the smallest voice possible was warning her that if she continued she would accidentally burn him. Although just once, even if it was just with his soul, she wanted to feel him. She wanted to connect with her beloved.

Kagome hovered over him, her long black hair creating a curtain from the rest of the world. It was amazing how undeveloped his senses were. Demons from her time would have started to fight before she got this close. He had the senses of a newborn pup, but the face of the man she loved. With this level of power, she could easily have killed him in his sleep and be done with it. Such weakness, like a fragile flower, or a leaf in autumn. Something that for right now she had to protect, even if it cost her the life her beloved tried so hard to protect. It was her turn now, and she would protect her beloved's soul in the form of this boy.

If she could properly say goodbye, then she'd be able to begin to put it all behind her. Kagome began to lower herself to his level, the barrier growing thinner around her. Just to feel him once would make things right. As she lowered herself down, she felt her heart race. At any moment, he could wake up and yell at her for taking advantage of him. Or something magical could happen, she could wake up and this would all be a terrible dream. She'd be back in the arms of the man that—

Kagome's head shot up almost instantly and saw outside the window a crow demon on the balcony. Its beady eyes darted around the room until they landed on her. Kagome frowned as red eyes met grey and she directed her spiritual power. The invisible force blew back the crow until it was stumbling in mid-air to regain its balance before flying off.

Inuyasha stirred and Kagome instantly froze; she didn't mean to use that much power! How could she explain herself if he had woken up to her next to him? She didn't move a muscle as he tossed and turned before falling back to sleep.

Ah, stupid Kagome… she chastised herself as she relaxed again. Nothing will bring him back and you are only hurting yourself now.

She would just have to be content. Content with this, watching over the reincarnation for the time being until she could return to the past. For now, she had to do the right thing. That was to protect him from the things that might come after him for her. She couldn't do that before and it had hurt for her to realize that, but she could make it up.

Kagome brushed back her hair as she watched over his sleeping figure. Once again, a small pained smile found its way to her lips as she remembered something that felt like yesterday, but was really such a long time ago. That day when he had admitted to wanting to protect her... That no matter what may come, he would be there as a loyal sword for her. She could recall almost nothing else about that day, but what she could remember clearly was his face and how his tone was that of a true lord.

She took a deep breath as she begun to repeat his words, whispering under her breath, "From today onwards, I will protect you with my life until we are forced to part."

And part, we never shall…

She could almost hear his voice after that and picture the way his chest swelled with such confidence.

What a troublesome young lord she got herself involved with, and a con-man as well. He lied to her. Now, when she needed him the most, he wasn't there, only a boy that resembled him was in front of her, and if that was his idea of never parting, then he was terribly cruel. Kagome let her head hang low before getting up, making sure she didn't shuffle her feet too much or let her clothing brush against anything.

From here on out, she had to be strong, and not just for herself. As she made her way back to her room, she looked over her shoulder to see the boy cradled on the couch like a sleeping child. She had to be strong for him as well. Many demons and humans alike would come to gain the power of the sacred jewel, and she had to be ready. She had to be strong. She would have to have the resolve to push on as well. She turned away from the boy as she moved back to his room. With the closing door behind her, she didn't notice the flickered eyes of the young man that she tied to protect.

He had stirred awake when he felt something being pulled from his side. Not hearing or feeling what she was doing minutes ago, he was slightly confused. Although what he did hear made him realize that maybe she would need more time to adjust.

"Beloved, give me strength," she had whispered just before the door closed

Inuyasha didn't move as he heard the door softly close behind her. All he was left with was his thoughts on how he could help her. For the next couple of hours, he drew blanks until the sun rose.

A/N: Another wonderful chapter brought about by Chelsea and I! I have to give credit where credit is due, she's such a hardworker and I love bouncing ideas off of her. Kagome and Kikyou want to protect Inuyasha from whatever might come! For Kikyou, Kagome poses a deadly threat that could lead to his destruction. Kagome on the other hand wishes to make sure that the one that carriers her beloved soul stays safe! Wish of these two women are right?! Find out on the next chapter of Cries From The Dark! Or...Or here me out when I stop being a piece of shit, lol see ya next chapter

Thanks to all the people that favorite and followed, you are like that silent push forward!

-Magical Rum