"Inuyasha, I swear that I'm not a suspicious person!" Kagome called as she ran behind her new friend.
"Oh sure!" he scoffed over his shoulder, "There's no way you aren't suspicious if you don't know about the Fracture! It doesn't matter how sheltered you were in your brothel! You would have noticed the earth breaking into pieces!"
"Wait! So were on an island right now too?"
"Tch, that's what I mean! You're suspicious." He increased his speed further.
"Wait! You think I'm a prostitute?" she cried as she matched his pace. Inuyasha blushed and looked away from her.
"Well, when you're walking around with your chest all exposed like that, what do you expect me to think?"
"Not that I'm a prostitute! And I'm wearing this so that I have more freedom of movement!"
"Then why don't you know about the fracture? Why don't you know about demons? Why were you being chased by a flock of demon birds?"
"Well… I don't know! And it's not like I meant to land in their nest, it just happened."
"And the fact that you can keep up with me?" Inuyasha asked as his eyes narrowed.
"Why wouldn't I be able to do that? You're not running that fast." She tilted her head in confusion.
"I'M A HALF DEMON!" he yelled, gesturing to his twitching ears, "Humans aren't physically capable of attaining these speeds!"
"Oh." Kagome looked to the landscape passing by, only then noticing that she was in fact running faster than she was capable. Though it was strange, she felt like she was only lightly jogging. She looked down to her feet and was mesmerized by the long strides and the earth which flew past at an unnatural rate. More aware of her surroundings now that she wasn't running for her life she noticed the lightness of her body and her blood seemed to burn in her veins. Though she couldn't explain why, she felt a latent energy seeping into her; filling her. The power, although suppressed, seemed to churn and boil with the desire to be used and manipulated.
"Tch, I'll take you to the old bag, she might have a better idea of what's going on."
"Ok!" Kagome said brightly.
"Just shut up and don't fall behind." Inuyasha said slightly defeated by her cheer. He just couldn't understand the girl. She dressed strangely, asked weird questions, and her aura; it was suffocating. He had met many creatures during his travels, but never had he encountered someone so oblivious to the power they exuded. His father had deeply ingrained the knowledge that the more powerful the aura, the more powerful the individual. He had only ever come across such a strong aura a few times. Thus, despite her supposed ignorance of demons and the energy which flowed through life and gave beings their power, he remained cautions of her and the vast raw power that waited for her call.
As they ran, the scenery gradually changed from forest to rolling hills and open paddy fields. There were some local villagers out tending to the crops, their pants pulled up with ties to stay dry. The houses were thatched and rather simple looking with stones used to keep the roofs from blowing away. Absently, Kagome noticed a familiar old well partly hidden by a thicket of trees. That must be where I was supposed to have been transported.
The villagers seemed weary of Inuyasha and Kagome even noticed a few mother push their children into nearby huts as they passed by. Though Inuyasha made no comment, his ears flattened against his head, as if they were trying to disappear from sight. This made Kagome frown, he had told her that humans did not care for demons, but he had helped her without expecting anything in return and answered her questions despite how strange as they were to him. She held her head high and nudged Inuyasha with her elbow, telling him with her eyes that he had nothing to be ashamed of. He didn't say anything, but there was a small smile on his face and his ears twitched back into sight.
It was when they were just about to enter the village when Kagome suddenly felt a sensation of familiarity overcome her body, the same electric pulses flowing through her body as when she had first met Malak. There was someone from earth close by. 'But that should be impossible,' she thought, 'unless…'
Inuyasha was surprised when she suddenly stopped running beside him, her eyes filled with confusion even as her eyes sparked unnaturally. He was once again surprised when she shot off at a speed he could never hope to match, heading toward the heart of town. Cursing, he followed after her.
She scarcely noticed the stout old woman wearing an eye patch over her right eye attempting to block her entry into the small hunt as she strode past into the small space. There sitting on a mat was a young woman, possibly a few years Kagome's senior. Most shocking, however, was the uncanny resemblance the two shared; it was as if they were looking into a mirror. Though, as they continued to examine each other, the differences became more obvious. The young woman seated on the ground took in Kagome's lush black hair which fought rebelliously with her straining hairband. Kagome's face also appeared longer and her cheekbones were more defined. Though, most obvious were the blue eyes which held her own. They were alight with curiosity and flashing with adrenaline. Like Inuyasha, she noticed the strange clothes the girl was wearing, though they held a completely different meaning to her than they did Inuyasha.
Kagome, in turn, observed her counterpart who had long straight hair which reached her knees and was pulled back by a white ribbon. Her eyes were a shade of dark brown which seemed to warn off others from approaching her, a permanent frown resting upon her brow. She was garbed in the cloths of a miko, familiar to Kagome from the many festivals they had held at the shrine back home. However, the most glaring difference was the conspicuous bulge in the woman's stomach indicating she was quite far along in her pregnancy.
The old woman watched the two, choosing to remain silent when she realized that Kagome meant them no harm. It was only when Inuyasha barged into the hut moments later that Kagome spoke.
"How is this possible? Never have two people been sent to the same place."
"What's she talking about, Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked as he glanced between the two similar looking women. "Do you know her?"
"No, I can't say I'm familiar with her or what she is speaking of." The woman, Kikyo, spoke softly, her gaze never leaving that of Kagome's.
"You know very well what I'm talking about." Kagome said with her eyes narrowing with challenge, "It is quite difficult to forget the Arch, Earth, our home."
"I apologize, but you must be mistaken, I have suffered from amnesia for several years now and do not remember anything of my life from before then." Kagome's eyes widened.
"You must have felt that sensation though!" she persisted, "It helps us recognize each other."
"Ah, that I can answer for ye. I am called, Kaede, child." The old woman said as she stepped into the room and sat down beside Kikyo. Patting the rug beside her, she asked Kagome to sit so she could better explain. Inuyasha remained by the door, his eyes keeping close watch of the surroundings. "Kikyo, no longer possesses the ability to sense the energy field. Before we continue though, I would ask that ye reign in your aura, it is quite distracting."
"My what?" Kagome tilted her head confused.
"Ye aura, child."
"I'm afraid that I'm not quite familiar with the term. Or at least in the context you used. I don't have an aura."
"Hey, old lady," Inuyasha spoke from the entryway, "When I met her, she was asking a lot of questions about demons and she didn't know about the Fracture. I do not think that she knows anything about the world's energy or her own power."
"Oh dear, that is definitely not good. An untrained miko is a danger to herself and those around her; particularly one of her power." Kaede said turning to the young girl, "I will have to teach ye quickly. It would not do to be tracked by demons at the moment." Kikyo sat up straighter and placed a hand protectively over her stomach.
"Um, I'm still confused." Kagome said with furrowed eye brows. "About everything…"
"We'll make it quick then." She said with a wave of her hand, "As ye must know, all living things require energy to survive. We get our energy from the food we consume and they get their energy from the earth and sun. Thus, when any living thing dies, their energy is returned to the earth from whence in came. This creates a cycle of ever-flowing energy. However, just as there are some animals better suited to hunt than others, some beings are able to tap into the energy flowing through the world. The humans capable of this feat are known as miko or monks. The beasts which can use the energy are known as yokai, or demons. The more powerful are even able to take on human forms, but do not forget that they remain animals and have heightened senses that humans cannot even begin to comprehend. Some are beautiful and others are grotesque, all are dangerous."
Kagome frowned and looked at Inuyasha. She did not think that he was dangerous. As if sensing her eyes upon him he turned and spoke.
"Even though I'm a half, that doesn't make me any less dangerous. You should be cautions of me and my kind."
"What do you mean, your kind?"
"Dog demons, Kagome. Though there are few of us, we are all quite dangerous."
'So I've heard,' Kagome though as she recalled Khronos' warnings about dog demons.
"Yes, the inu yokai are certainly one of the more powerful demon races. And lineage certainly goes a long way in determining the strength of a demon." Kaede said, watching Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye. He returned to keeping watch. "As I was saying, demons are incredibly powerful, but the miko and monks are able to fight with them by channeling their powers into weapons. We call this energy holy as it is the opposite of a yokai's demonic power. Any questions so far?"
"Could you tell me about the auras you mentioned before?"
"Ah, yes, well the aura is a representation of the power a being possesses. An expression of the individual who wields it I suppose. I will show ye." Kaede slowly relaxed her shoulders, and Kagome suddenly felt the older woman's presence keenly. It was wizened from the many trials she had faced and yet it retained a playful nature true to Kaede's more youthful days. Although there was force in the aura, it was more of an annoying nudge to Kagome. Kaede, seeing that Kagome was more amused by her aura than intimidated, increased the strength. However, the reaction she got was far from the one that she had expected. The vast aura that hung about Kagome suddenly expanded exponentially in retaliation to the force Kaede had tried to use to overpower her.
Unlike Kaede's aura, Kagome's was as expansive as the sky overhead. There was no single feeling one could associate with her aura; it was timeless. Each moment they spent surrounded by it, they were assaulted with a new feeling; one moment they felt the heart wrenching sorrow of losing a loved one and the next a euphoric stolen moment between lovers. It was humbling, it was terrifying. They were so caught up in the onslaught that they were completely oblivious to what was happening to Kagome. When they came out of their trance, they found that Kagome's eyes were no longer the bright blue, but a flashing electric blue which shown unnaturally in the dimly lit hut. Before they knew it she was bolting out the door and into the sunlight.
Kagome, on the other hand, experienced something quite different from the others when her aura reacted, changing from passive to active; it expanded her senses. The feeling of adrenaline she had felt when running with Inuyasha returned. She felt stretched while, at the same time, so caged; she was dying to release the energy building in her body, but as she did not know the consequences for doing so, she kept it under tight control. Instead she calmed herself and explored her new found abilities.
The first sense to come under control was her hearing. She cried out at the sudden rush of sounds that bombarded her; she was sure she would lose her mind they were so loud. Clutching the sides of her head she tried to shield her ears. She focused on blocking out the unwanted sounds and dimming the others to a more manageable level, and after a moment the sound gradually receded.
The second was her taste. Although she wasn't eating anything, she decided it wouldn't hurt to rinse her mouth with water or anything; the mint from her toothpaste last night was burning her tongue and making her eyes water. Repeating the process, she allowed her tastes to return to more comfortable levels.
Third was her nose. To be honest, she really wouldn't have minded missing out on this one. The putrid smells that assailed her had her gasping for breath and biting her cheek to keep from dry heaving. It was incredible what could bring a person to their knees. She took harsh, shuddering breath and pressed her head to the cool earth under her as the new sense came under control.
Opening her eyes she looked at the petrified face of Kaede, who was seated beside her, and jumped back in shock. Every wrinkle and blemish could be seen as if under a microscope. She looked out the door to the sunlit world and felt a rush of vertigo come over her. It was as if she was looking through a telescope while running. Her vision was narrowed to one specific zoomed in point which would change with the slightest movement on her part. Groaning, she closed her eyes and waited for the feeling to pass. When she reopened them, nothing had changed and the headache was quickly returning. This time she unfocused her eyes and waited until her vision receded back to normal levels.
Her hand brushed the ground as she adjusted herself and jumped as she not only felt the dirt move as if in slow motion under her hand but the air too. It flowed and danced between her fingers when she made the slightest movement. Every movement across her skin was felt by her over-sensitivity. Her hair tickled her face and she reached up to brush it away and was entranced when she felt her fingers trail across her forehead. It was particularly strange to feel your own face as if it was the first time. Unsurprisingly, she felt the dirt she had picked up while running and there was a smoother layer of sweat at her hairline. This sensation, too, went dormant after some concentration on her part.
It was with great shock that a sudden additional awareness came to her. Her heart raced and she lifted a hand to where she knew something was passing by. Quickly focusing her eyes, she saw it; the energy of the world. It was incredible. The world was filled with wisps of energy every shade of color imaginable as they twisted and danced together like silk scarves in the wind. They flowed, shifted, and joined together; unrestricted and free. The world was filled with vibrancy and life unlike any she had known.
Curious, she allowed her other senses to expand and was awed. She could hear the whispers of energy mingling and feel as they flowed through her. She rushed outside and began giggling at how incredible the world around her was. She could see the immense energy surrounding the various islands, supporting their suspension in the air. The wind sang softly as it rustled the leaves in the trees and wove its' way through the grass. She felt the energy spreading through the soil and into the paddy fields to breathe life into the crops the villagers were tending.
She spun while spreading her arms wide, laughing as the different colored energies merged and spun with her. The grass underfoot lit with each step she took and the air around her was clearer; purer. She stopped when she saw the other exit the hut. Turning to them she smiled with joy.
"You were right, Kaede, the energy of this world is incredible." Though the wording seemed strange to them, they were too preoccupied with the unnatural air that surrounded her. The wind was spiraling around her in a small tornado, her hair wiping about in the breeze and the grass around her seemed to be greener, more full of life. Though, most conspicuous of all was the way she seemed to glow. Her eyes, body, and aura all were alight with energy.
Kaede was speechless. The energy collected and swarmed around her, waiting for her to call upon them like a servant to their master. Gathering her wits about her she stepped forward.
"Child, ye must stop!" Kagome frowned, not wishing to end her fun. "Ye power will call forth demons to this village. Please stop this at once!"
"I apologize, Kaede, but I do not know how to dispel my aura."
"Ye do not need to dispel it, simply pull it inward."
Kagome frowned in concentration and tried to replicate what she had done with her senses. However, her aura was vast and proved to be quite difficult to reign in. The energy that had gathered around her were upset at her struggle and wished to aid her. Gathering together they wrapped around her upper left arm to form a golden cuff that wound its' way around her arm. Instinctively understanding what they were doing, she guided her aura into the band which glowed intensely before returning to its' golden state. The band hummed with power but Kagome herself appeared to be harmless and without power.
After examining the band, she smiled at energy still gathered around her, which seemed almost bashful, and thanked them before losing consciousness.
When Kagome next awoke she found only Kikyo with her. Looking around, she saw that they had brought her back into Kaede's hut. A grumble from her stomach alerted the other to her awakening.
"Here," Kikyo said as she placed a bowl of rice paired with fish before her, "eat, you have been resting for quite some time. Two days I believe."
"Thank you, Kikyo." She ate silently as she regarded the other girl. When finished, Kikyo removed the dishes to a pile Kagome assumed was from the others dinner. "Do you truly not remember anything from before? Where you are from? How you came to be here?"
"I do not."
"And you did not have any feeling of electricity coursing through you when we met?"
"No."
"I see." Though, she was still disturbed. She did not think that Malak would lie to her and there was no other reason for her to get that feeling around Kikyo. It did not make any sense. "Are you also an energy user?"
"A miko? I was."
"You are not anymore?"
"A miko's power is based on the purity of their soul. As you can see, I have consorted with a male as I am now with child. Therefore, I lost most my powers. Now, I can only sense those who are powerful."
Kagome raised a brow in surprise. That could not possibly be the reason she lost her powers, for Kagome was certainly not a virgin. Nope. She had popped that cherry with Hojo half a year after they began dating. If Kikyo was right then she shouldn't be able to access the energy here.
"Who is the father," Kagome asked, changing the subject. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."
"Not at all. The father is Inuyasha."
"Wah!" Kagome was glad that she was sitting down. "He's going to be a father? You're both so young! Are you two married?"
"He has demonic blood, even if he is only half."
"…" Kikyo sighed at the blank look she was receiving.
"He is over five hundred years old. And we are not married but mated."
"Five hundered! He's preying on younger women!" Kagome rose to her feet, "I will not let this go. Twenty years difference may have been OK back in the 1700's but five hundred is completely inappropriate." Kikyo pulled her back down, Kagome landing hard on her butt.
"It's not like that. Demons don't age like humans. Their connection with the energy cycles slows the aging down, but it also slowed their maturity as well. Not to mention, dogs age quite gracefully. He is approximately 29 in human years."
"Hmm. Alright then." She paused as her eyes once again fell upon Kikyo's growing womb. "You said he was your mate, what exactly does that mean?"
"He is part beast, they do not marry, but find mates."
"So… what, every spring he gets horny and-"
"NO!" Kikyo cut in quickly, "That's not it at all! Demons only have one mate who they stay with for life and they don't settle for anything less than their promised mate."
"Bullshit." Kagome sighed, "That's probably what they tell you but look at the situation objectively here. You are saying that there are two people destined to be together in the entire world. Do you know the odds of actually finding that one person?"
"It does seem highly unlikely but-"
"And what if one of them dies? Will the other never be mated and live alone for life?" Kagome cut in as she got more fired up.
"Well-"
"Then you have situations like Inuyasha, his dad knocked up a human! Were they mated too?"
"Enough!" Kikyo said sternly, effectively silencing the chattering girl. "To begin, demons are able to find their mates quite easily. Their heightened senses allow them to know the instant their mate is born. Their auras will call to each other.
"Next, if one were to die, which is unlikely because even weak demons are quite strong, they would indeed live alone. As I said, they will never settle for less.
"Finally, Inuyasha is a special case. His mother and father were not mates."
"But you said-"
"Kagome." Kikyo's voice held a hint of warning and Kagome instantly quieted. "Inuyasha is a bastard child born from a concubine of his father. As I have stated before, demon only mate once. However, there are instances where a human is taken but those situations are very rare and only occur when the woman in question has considerable power. This is due in part to the jealousy a concubine would inspire in the mate and because humans with enough power to make it worth the trouble are few and far between."
"So Inuyasha's mother was quite powerful."
"Well, she was in a way. She was not made a concubine for her spiritual power but because she was a human princess. Her father traded her for protection; Inuyasha's father was the lord of the western lands and the strongest demon alive. Inuyasha was a mistake from the one time they were obligated to consummate the agreement."
"Wow."
"Indeed."
"You are mated to Inuyasha. How is that possible? Isn't there some cross breeding issues with that?"
"Obviously not." Kikyo said gesturing to her womb. "It is possible for a demon to mate a human, but there have been so few occurrences of this happening that it is not believed to be possible by many. Additionally, humans have far shorter lifespans and will die before their mates. The death of a mate is hard and will usually drive the one left behind insane."
"You said that mates feel drawn to each other. Did you also feel this with Inuyasha?"
"No, that is another reason that it is rare for a demon and human to mate. Humans, for some reason, cannot feel the pull, only their demon counterpart can. Thus when a demon comes for their mate, the human will usually not believe them, thinking it a trick." Kikyo considered Kagome for a moment before continuing. "You are very strong. The strongest human I have ever encountered by far. Your aura will have definitely attracted some of the stronger demons who wish for a concubine. You should learn control, until then never remove that band around your arm."
"I understand," Kagome said solemnly, "I will ask Kaede to teach me." Kikyo nodded and watched as the younger girl left the hut, thinking 'She could be dangerous.'
The training to control her power was not difficult in the slightest. It seemed only happy to comply with her will. Materializing orbs of energy; no problem. Turning the energy into weapons; cinch. Keeping her aura under wraps while doing all this; piece of cake with the help of the band. The kicker was that whenever she would channel her power into an object in would explode or shatter from the purity of the energy. No matter how little power she channeled, the moment it made contact with another weapon it was toast. It was neat what she could do with her arrows though. Since the object could retain the energy until it made contact with something, the arrows would explode the moment they reached the target and they flew faster with the added energy boost.
It was for this reason that Inuyasha decided to take her to meet the man who had made his own sword, Totosai. Totosai did not live on the island they were currently on and was curious how people traversed from island to island. Turns out, they took the boat.
Kagome still hadn't learned much about the even Kaede, Kikyo, and Inuyasha called the Fracture; they seemed quite tightlipped about the whole thing. They would say that it was in the past, and she should not concern herself with such dark things. So Kagome learned not to ask directly.
The earth had apparently once been whole with oceans dividing the different lands. Apparently, the energy of the earth was not as pronounced as it was currently and that the Fracture was what led to the increased levels. There are six islands including the one she had appeared on, and they seem to have been divided based upon their climate. Either that or they took on a similar climate as a result of the Fracture. There is an island for the desert, forest, mountains, jungle, arctic, and volcano. Totosai, Inuyasha had told her, lived in the volcanic region.
When they arrived at port and Kagome saw the floating boat in the air she laughed like a mad man.
"Haha. Seriously, Inuyasha, you don't expect me to get on that thing, do you?" His response was a deadpan look. "Now now now. Let's be reasonable here. That," she said pointing dramatically at the boat, "is not natural."
"Of course it's not. Now let's go."
"B-But-"
"Come on." He said as he dragged her aboard and took a seat. Kagome clung to the bench as if her life depended on it; to her it certainly did. "Why are you so nervous? You can see it can't you? The energy." He whispered quietly to her.
She could, in fact, see the energy keeping the boat in the air. During her training, they had quickly noticed Kagome's heightened senses. Her eyes in particular.
"Doesn't everyone have them?" She asked when they questioned her ability to track Inuyasha and keep his pace when training physically. "I only noticed them when your aura pressed against mine aggressively. Adjusting to them was quite painful though…"
"Kagome, miko do not have these abilities. We are able to sense some of the energy and can feel some auras but beyond that we are humans."
"You mean you can't see the energy?" Inuyasha and Kaede both glanced at each other,
"Kagome, I have never heard of a being that can see energy. That should not even be possible."
"But it's everywhere. There are two strands of energy trying to sooth away the pain in your feet as we speak." Kagome's eyes were dimmer than the day she awoke to the new senses, but they were unnaturally bright none the less. She had been keeping all her senses on alert to better train with them and her new abilities. It would take time to adjust to this new form of combat.
"It seems to me that ye have developed some demonic traits along with holy ones. That is the only answer I can come up with." Kaede concluded, "Though it is difficult to ascertain why that is."
"I don't mind them, it was only difficult adjusting in the beginning."
"Yes, child, but it is quite curious."
"Yes I can see the energy; I would have to be blind not to see it. It's not the energy I don't trust but the person channeling it." The two looked to where a smiling purple garbed monk sat gripping his staff lightly, his hand covered and wrapped with holy beads. "He looks like a rogue that will swindle you for money."
Despite Kagome's reservations about the man, the trip was uneventful. There were only a few islands visible during the journey: the forest island (which they had just come from), the arctic island above, and the volcanic island below. Kagome was interested to find that although the oceans were gone, the energy wisps would try to recreate the feeling of water as they traveled. Instead of comforting the riders, making them think of water, the riders instead doubted the monk's ability to pilot the vessel.
When the boat made port, Kagome was unsurprised that they were the only passengers departing. Not many were willing to brave the lava covered volcanic rock which was in a constant state of eruption. What Kagome did not expect was the sudden surge of red wisps of energy to gather around her excitedly. Then, the moment her foot made contact with the heated ground all seven of the volcanoes erupted and the geysers released bursts of heated water.
"You certainly know how to make an entrance." Inuyasha muttered as he stepped off the boat. "Do try not to destroy the island."
"Idiot!" Kagome yelled as she trailed after him, smaller explosions shaking the land with each step.