Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author's Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).
*UNEDITED*
Chapter Fifty-Four
The Extent of her Power
An unnatural quiet settled over the cove as the Indians and the Pirates both stared in disbelief at the spot where Shiori stood with tears still running down her tiny face as she gawked at her hands where the orb had once rested. In its place now was nothing, everything having fallen to the ground remnants of its crystal countenance sparkling in the sand as well as a piece of shattered glass that didn't match the rest in color nor size. The mismatched piece shimmered slightly with an unnatural white light on the sandy ground among the nearly clear pieces of the shattered sphere.
"What the hell?" Adahy whispered as he stared at that small mismatched sliver falling to his knees in the sand unable to look away as his heart lurched in his chest unnaturally.
"Shiori!" Onaconah's loud voice shattered the silence as the old chief finally came back to his senses and ran towards her fear gripping his heart as he dashed across the short distance, ignoring Adahy completely. "U-ni-si!" He called out the word for granddaughter his voice tight as he landed on his knees at her side careful to dodge the bits of broken glass as he grabbed her and pulled her tightly in his arms. "Ga-wo-ni-s-gv?" He pressed demanding that she speak to him so as to reassure him that she was okay.
"E-du-di," The little girl whimpered as she felt her grandfather's arms wrap around her in a large comforting hug. Her lip trembled and the tears overflowed turning into a frightened sob. "E-du-di!" She cried out and held onto the man just as another man rushed towards them from the crowd his war paint smeared after having fought for so long.
"Shiori!" He called loudly causing both Shiori and Onaconah to turn and look just in time to see Onaconah's youngest son rushing towards them his eyes that of a worried father who had nearly just had his heart torn out.
"E-do-da!" The girl's voice carried so loudly that it seemed to wake up all the stunned individuals around them, who in response began to whisper back and forth in both Cherokee and English confused.
Their voices carried about the clearing asking the obvious questions of what had just happened, why had it happened, and who had caused it to happen. They talked to anyone who would listen not even realizing that they were communicating with once sworn enemies, perhaps not even able to see each other as sworn enemies any longer after what Kagome had just done. Among the ever growing din of noise, Inuyasha stood looking on as Onaconah and his son both held onto the tiny Shiori talking to her in the tongue of ancient demons growling and purring telling the girl in a language more natural than time itself that she was loved and that they both were happy she was safe.
"What just happened?" He managed to whisper, watching the two men fawn over the girl, his mind moving in slow motion as it took in all the sensory information that had just been thrown at him. "No way." His mind felt fuzzy as the explanation touched just the edges of his brain. Slowly and deliberately, Inuyasha turned and looked at the very spot he had left Kagome not minutes before only to see her standing there the bow at her side and her expression one of absolute pride. "She did it." He found the words barely able to leave his tongue as he looked up at her above them tall and purposeful in her stance, her hair with the feather still lodged in it curling at the ends as a soft breeze just barely moved the strands across her sweet face—he stared lost in her.
"Captain?"
He froze at the sound of the little voice his eyes darting away from Kagome to the tiny Shippo that was barreling towards him looking absolutely petrified. "Shippo?" He whispered, his own voice seeming to break something within the shy kit who lunged at him. He caught the tiny ball of fur in his arms and held him tightly as he listened to the small boy cry into his sleeve.
"You're alive." The boy sniveled just now seeming to register that the man in front of him was real and not part of his imagination. "They said nobody could'a survived but you're alive!"
"Yeah," Inuyasha spoke his voice still gruff but genuinely gentle as he held the boy to him and allowed himself to offer the kit a moment of comfort that he normally would have refrained from but couldn't bring himself in the current situation to withhold. "Who knows what this kids been through." He sighed as he inhaled the tiny scent of the boy checking on him subconsciously as he had with Miroku as well. Unlike Miroku however, the kit smelled just as he always did not a drop of blood nor sign of abuse on his baby skin. "Thank god for small favors." Inuyasha told himself as he looked up and around him in complete astonishment.
The area had calmed down completely, the men who had once been fighting and killing each other talking excited with one another debating what had happened with anyone who would listen.
"What's wrong with these people?" He wondered to himself as he watched the complete change in demeanor. "What's so different?" The question plagued him until his eyes happened to move back towards Onaconah once again, landing on the man who was still holding desperately to his young granddaughter as if she would at any moment disappear. He smiled slightly at the sight only to frown when he took in the white Shikon shard to their left once more. "The shard." His eyes narrowed as he remembered the power of the shard's influence, his mind jumping back to nearly a month or so before when they had met Jinenji. "The jewel corrupted us when we touched it because of our mixed blood—could it do that to full bloods too?"
Some feet away from Inuyasha and Shippo, Adahy sat on his knees his hands clutching the sand tightly as he shook his head in complete disbelief. "Where," He bit the word out as his hands shook. "Who—who destroyed generations—that orb has been around for generations—who?" He mumbled incomprehensibly before slamming his hands into the ground hard. "Who did this?" He screamed at the top of his lungs causing the whole area to grow still and silent once more.
All the men who had not moments before been on his side seemed to hesitate at the sound of his voice. They all seemed to limbo back and forth, some appearing to want to join Adahy in his own indignation but others appearing torn and, instead of immediately siding with their leader and expressing their own contempt, they hung back with worried frowns on their faces.
"Speak up!" Adahy yelled once more as he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it randomly in front of himself. "Who the hell did this?"
"I did."
Everyone in the clearing turned their heads as one and looked up above them at Kagome standing on the roof top bow in hand. Hastily, Adahy stood to his feet gazing at her as if she was a mirage and not real in the least. The Indians who recognized Kagome began to whisper amongst themselves the ones who didn't speak English not quite understanding what had been said but finding out quick enough, from the ones who did know the language, what was going on.
"A girl?" Adahy whispered as he scented the air absently. "A human girl." He spoke louder as he took a step forward towards Kagome the whispering dying down so that the men around could listen. "How the hell could a fucking human girl do this?" He waved his hand violently towards the broken globe glaring at her with flames haunting his eyes.
"Hey!" Inuyasha snarled in response making his presence known as he stepped between Adahy and Kagome as best he could considering the height difference between Kagome's spot and Adahy's. Still in his arms Shippo stared at the fuming Adahy with fear gripping his small body as he dug his minute claws into the Captain's sleeves puncturing it but not managing to even nick the skin. "Shippo," Inuyasha whispered but his voice came across as tight and barely restrained. "Go to Onaconah and the little girl."
"Aye Captain." Shippo replied without questioning who Onaconah might be knowing that it would be far safer anywhere but here at present. Detaching himself he pulled away from the Captain and hastily ran the short distance towards Shiori who caught him in a grateful hug right before Adahy spoke again.
"Get out of my way!" Adahy's voice was still just as low as it had been before the jewel was purified and just as full of malicious intent. "This doesn't involve you."
"Like hell it doesn't." Inuyasha growled as he bared his fangs and dug his heels into the constantly shifting sandy ground. "Don't," He punctured the word heatedly. "Go," He dug his heels in more firmly. "Near," He pulled his lips back in a classic ferial snarl. "Her."
"Back off," Adahy hissed low in his throat his eyes going into cat like slits. "Half breed."
Inuyasha felt his claws elongate at the remark as his demon blood began pooling at the surface the more this man insulted him and his mate. "No." He bit out as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "You back off you fucking cat."
Above them Kagome watched the exchange with a dark frown on her face as she looked not at the ensuing fight but at the odd halos still above both men's heads. Above Inuyasha the halo was the same color it had been the first time she had seen it not white but not black either—a shade of gray as it were.
Adahy's, on the other hand, had not changed at all remaining dark with just a hint of white mixing among the black—potential. She clutched the bow tightly in her hand at the sight letting out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding, "I half expected the Shikon being purified would change him." She told herself before frowning. "But I guess—." She thought as she watched the halo on his head swirl with that same dark and compromising black the longer her eyes stayed on him. "He has more hate inside of him to feed off of than the rest."
Absently, she turned to look at the others in the clearing to find that her theory appeared to be standing true. Some of the men's rings were completely new shades millions of times lighter than they had been before, the influence of the Shikon shards having been the true source of their immeasurable prejudice. However, some of their halos appeared to have undergone only the slightest bit of change. They were no longer blackened to the extent of Adahy's but still were not as clear as the other men around them.
"The amount of hate they possess for the Shikon to affect must vary." She noted darkly. "None of them are as bad as Adahy—in fact," She glanced over the other men, her eyes sweeping through the clearing. "For the most part, the blackness seems to be slowly receding in all of them—it's like they just need a little more of a push in the right direction." She blinked in confusion at the realization, "That's just strange but I'm not complaining."
Adahy and Inuyasha, who had begun to slowly circle one another growling and snarling as they did so, caught Kagome's eye. She watched Adahy as he circled, his eyes narrowed into slits as he watched Inuyasha like meat ready for slaughter causing her to shutter.
"I wonder what caused so much hate to enter his heart?" Her breath hitched in her throat the thought escaping her head as Adahy staring down at Inuyasha snarled dangerously, his fangs long and cat like dripping with spit.
"Are you gonna attack me," He yelled at Inuyasha as some of his men hesitantly began to cheer him on, stepping out away from the rest of the crowd as their halos darkened just a little more in stark contrast to the others. "Or just keep circling you mutt?"
She barely registered the words as she felt her energy begin to pulse inside of her once again as if it already knew what had to happen. "I remember Mr. Carver his hate was because of his beliefs in demon/human marriage," Her thoughts continued as she shook her head slowly from side to side. "And the only way to get rid of it was—," She licked her lips as her memories of the event ran through her head plaguing her with information.
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Pussy" Inuyasha's growling response was barely heard by Kagome as well, not even the loud cries of the Indians in the clearing supporting him and giving him encouragement really reached her ears.
"—to purify him and all those people," She continued the ensuing pissing contest below her effectively blocked out by her thoughts. "Of course at the time I didn't know Jinenji had a tainted jewel—maybe if I had purified it they would have changed on their own but I'll never know." She felt her power pulsate inside her stomach, she could have sworn she felt it swirl.
"Why you!" Adahy hissed as he brandished his claws out in front of him preparing to swipe; his voice a vague backdrop to Kagome's thoughts.
"All I know is I haven't tried to purify Adahy." She reasoned, her mind trying to remember everything that had happened on that night so long ago but coming up fuzzy. "And I did purify Mr. Carver and he changed," She bit her lip as her thoughts swirled in her brain. "Which logically means that getting rid of the Shikon does not necessarily get rid of the source of hate."
"Come at me!" Inuyasha challenged as he popped his knuckles his face set and ready for a fight.
Kagome's mind just registered his voice as the crowd of men surrounding them whooped and yelled. "What?" She felt the thought entered her mind as she finally registered what was right before her eyes. "Did he not listen to a word I said earlier!" She groused and set her chin firmly her eyes blazing with a fire that both Adahy and Inuyasha would marvel at.
"Enough!" She yelled without preamble, her voice cutting into the clearing causing both men to freeze instantly in place, the crowds around them that had been provoking the altercation hushing as the feminine voice broke into their psyches. Slowly, pirate and Indian alike looked back up at Kagome as if just remembering that she was there at all; that she had been involved at all.
Kagome felt her nerves get to her as all eyes landed on her perch above them. "Well, you got their attention Kagome." She thought briefly, her internal voice sounding oddly sarcastic and reminding her heavily of Inuyasha himself. She frowned darkly before she continued.
"Look at yourselves," She called out over the clearing her hands opening wide seeming to encompass all of them in her speech. The men below her murmured looking at each other confused as they tried to comprehend what the strange woman was talking about. "Look at," Her voice froze for a moment as she heard someone translating what she was saying into Cherokee, she glanced down and felt her heart warm when she realized it was Onaconah. "I'll have to thank him later." She told herself before continuing. "Look at what you have become!"
Below her Adahy rolled his eyes and cut off her speech with a loud snort. "What the fuck do you know little girl!" He called to her only a few men in the clearing yelling out their agreement as Adahy smirked.
Inuyasha snarled in response whipping his head around and baring his teeth at the somewhat older man. "Don't you dare talk to her like that!" He spat the words out as his hackles rose and he snapped his teeth a nonverbal threat.
"And what," Adahy smirked as he took a step forward. "Are you gonna do about it if I do?"
Inuyasha's eyes flashed red for a moment as every hair on his body seemed to stand on end. "I'll fucking kill you," He snarled preparing to lunged, the men around him once again began yelling as Adahy dropped into a fighting stance claws ready to strike.
"Inuyasha stop!" Kagome yelled from above them her voice breaking into his psyche so loudly that he felt himself halt in his tracks and turn to look at her torn between her voice and the man who had insulted her.
"Kill him!"
The demon in him snarled but he found himself unable to even respond as he looked up at Kagome taking in her bright grey eyes as they looked down at him silently pleading and begging him to understand, to see what she wanted him to see, and do what she wanted him to do. 'Please Inuyasha' her pink lips just barely parted to form the words as she shook her head back and forth, her very presence gentle on his heart. His breathing slowed and the anger he was feeling began to ebb. He took a deep breath and glanced behind him at Adahy before looking out at the other men who had fallen silent waiting to see what would happen.
"She's right," Inuyasha called to the men all of them, despite their current side, actually listening to him as they took in his calm demeanor with interest, never having before seen a man go from nearly berserk to calm in such a short amount of time. "This is enough," He turned and glared at Adahy. "We should listen to her."
"Why should we?" Adahy fired back his expression telling Inuyasha that he wanted to get a rise out of him. "That bitch destroyed the orb," He pointed at the shattered glass. "She destroyed what our tribe had in its possession for generations, why should we listen to her?" He looked out at the men who were struggling between good and evil, between hate and understanding. "She spit on our ancestors when she destroyed that orb!"
Inuyasha felt the small hairs on his arms and legs begin to raise just like a feral dog whose hair on its ridge stands on end when it feels it's in danger. "Looks whose talking!" He fired back into the other man's face taking a desperate step forward his fist shaking as he attempted not to form it into a punch but before he could act on the impulse Kagome spoke.
"It's interesting you say tribe and ancestors." She called down to Adahy her voice somehow soothing to all around her.
Carefully, Inuyasha lowered his hand and turned back to her the rest of the tribe and pirates and even Adahy following suit. It was as if they had no choice, her voice was by far too commanding and had a quality that none present could adequately explain. It was just a voice you had to listen to.
"Before today, Adahy," She went on. "Before this moment, I didn't think you belonged to any tribe and that you hated your ancestors." She called out to them motioning to the men as Onaconah continued to translate her words into their native tongue. "It's funny how you bring them up only when it is to your advantage." A murmuring came from the crowd as men who had once stood behind Adahy began to look at him with questioning eyes. "Only when you're trying to manipulate those around you into believing your way of thought." She smiled, a sad and believing smile that soon turned into a dark and penetrating stare. "Isn't that closer to spitting on ones ancestors than anything I did?"
"Shut up!" Adahy screamed at Kagome but the damage was already done as the full blooded demons that had once followed Adahy blindly started to open their eyes her words having been all they needed to see once more.
"Right now," She looked at all those mumbling men her eyes imploring. "I implore all of you to look for yourselves without Adahy's opinions clouding your minds," She placed a hand to her heart sincerely. "Look at the man standing next to you, look at him and see him—see him with new eyes."
Confused, the men began to obey her without really having a reason to but somehow feeling compelled to do just that. Perhaps it was because Onaconah was translating so it felt as if the command was coming from a leader, each man there having followed Onaconah's orders at one point in his life, or perhaps it was because Kagome simply was that commanding.
"Look at each other," Kagome pressed motioning to the men with her bow as she spoke prompting them to really look at the men around them. "And tell me—," She pushed even harder, her voice firm and impassable. "What real differences do you see?"
The men blinked, pirate and Indian alike freezing as those words struck them and began to sink in a look of surprise seeming to echo all around the clearing as pirate looked at Indian and Indian looked at pirate seeing for the first time in two hundred years faces that they recognized as more than just an enemy but as someone they had once known, someone they had once lived next to, shared food with, shared life with. Men who hadn't seen each other in over two hundred years suddenly stepped forward not seeing a true difference anymore. Other's stepped back hesitantly afraid of what was being implied, afraid of everything they had ever known becoming a lie.
"Think back—," Kagome spoke loudly from her spot everyone turning to stare at her as she stood tall, her bright eyes shining in the moonlight. "You were once a tribe together, you once were neighbors," Her mind briefly saw a flash of a Jinenji's shy smile. "I know you reached a crossroads where a difference in opinion tore that apart but think—when did that separation become hate, become violence—become deaths?"
The men all seemed to freeze as Kagome's words sank into their hearts a collective memory of an incident that had happened recently in demon terms but really over five years ago in human terms coming to their minds.
"That orb," Kagome spoke without needing confirmation to know what they all already were piecing together. "It clouds your judgment." She pointed at the jewel shard then. "Within it lies a jewel that preys upon our hatred and amplifies it until it consumes us." Now able to see with ever mounting clarity, the men began to understand as they followed Kagome's finger to stare at the white gem stone that so stuck out. "Brother killing brother, nephew killing uncle, fathers killing sons all done because that jewel amplifies and creates hatred in ones heart." Kagome continued her voice gentle but still ringing loudly in everyone's ears. "Until all one can see is unfounded hatred and not the family they once knew."
The men began to look at each once more seeing things they had forgotten in their short (to a demons understanding) time apart. They had forgotten about their connections, about the little things that connected them to that human, that connected them to that demon, the things that made them a family, a tribe. And they realized it had all been because of unfounded and somewhat manipulated hate that had blinded them. Slow feelings of horror began to sink into some of them as they realized that they had killed, murdered, and condemned people who had once been their brothers, their uncles, their sister's husbands or sons.
Below Adahy hissed before spitting deliberately on the ground. "You don't understand." He yelled up to her causing all the men to turn and look at him giving the Pirate Captain their full attention. "We may be of the same tribe but when our ideals changed we had to become what we did." He snarled. "Mixing blood?" Adahy told her his voice dripping with disgust. "They believe in mixing blood, dirtying our demon bloodlines," He held up his arm showing her his veins for emphasis. "It destroys our power. A pure blooded demon is by far stronger than anything! And because they don't understand that we had to become their enemies."
Kagome smiled at him, her expression reminding every man in the clearing of a mother who smiles at the silly thing her child has said before reminding them gently of the truth. "A full blooded demon is stronger than a half demon, that's what you're saying?" She pause giving him time to respond that he didn't use. "If that's so," Kagome looked Adahy straight in the eye all the people in the clearing watching with anticipation as she began to speak again. "Then why is that little half human half demon girl able to use that orb and you are not?"
Adahy opened his mouth to speak but all words failed him.
"You've let your unfounded hate blind you for so long Adahy," Kagome felt something start to push within her stomach asking and begging to be let out. "That you can't see the fallacies in your own lie."
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Adahy yelled up at her as he felt everything begin to slip away from him.
"Captain." One of his men stepped forward his hand extended as he looked at his leader with pleading eyes. "I—she—she makes a lot of sense." The man spoke although his voice was shaky. "I—I thought that our blood shouldn't be mixed yes," He frowned darkly as if trying to gather his own thoughts. "But I never—I never thought to condemn someone because of it until," He looked over at the shattered glass upon the ground. "Until we had the orb—," He lifted his gaze to his leader. "And now I feel so—so—wrong for ever having had either thought."
"What?" The young Captain yelled throwing his arms up in the air as he snarled.
Another man stepped up as well before the Captain could continue raising his hands in the air to show off bloodied claws. "Did you not hear her?" He whispered out as his lips trembled, his hands shook, and tears filled his eyes. "Look what we've done today, we've tried to kill each other, I—," He looked down at his claws before falling to his knees twin streams of tears gliding down his cheeks. "I—I killed," His voice caught in his throat before he looked up at Adahy with pure remorse. "My own uncle." His words were just as true as his remorse. "Is this what we've become—murders of our own blood?" He looked out at the rest of the clearing his words seeming to seep into all the hearts of those around him. "And for what?" He screamed desperately as he grabbed his chest the blood smearing across his skin.
"What do you mean for what?" Adahy challenged as he stepped forward. "We broke away from the mother tribe so we could follow our ideals."
Another bloodied man stepped out of the crowd at Adahy's words responding before the man on the ground could even open his mouth. "If it was just about ideals Adahy." The man said honestly using his Captain's first name bluntly. "We never would have killed our brothers."
"Yeah!" Other men in the clearing began to agree.
"We killed our families and for what?" He continued to speak as he held up his hands and looked around. "Pure blood and a shanty town—," He shook his head at Adahy in disbelief. "I can see it now Adahy, what I never saw before—I don't know why it wasn't clear till now—maybe she's right and that orb was messing with our minds, maybe it was inside us and we were stupid—but either way I can see it now, I can see what we've become." He spread his arms out wide. "We went against everything our tribe, our blood, our morals, and we got what we paid for: misery and death."
A chorus of agreement went out throughout the clearing and Kagome watched on smiling as the halos above the men's heads began to change the black becoming lighter and lighter as each man spoke in turn. Voices of reason finally able to truly see. "Let it go Adahy," Kagome whispered but somehow her voice still sounded booming to the ears of the demons around her as they looked up and watched her speak once more with reverence. "See again."
"Never," He told her as he stood his ground. "I know I'm right," He looked out over the crowd pointing at the men who had spoken with an accusing claw. "Can't you see her words have only confused you?" He yelled before turning towards the crowd, "Step forward if you believe me, stand by me and finish this!" He called to them and much to his horror watched as not one foot moved. "What?" He spoke softly completely baffled as he took a step to his right. "Not one of you!" He yelled at them before turning to look behind himself at the men on his left. "You either?" None of the men made eye contact as Adahy screamed. "All of you have been taken in by her lies."
"Brother?" Onaconah pressed as he stood moving away from his son, granddaughter, and Shippo in favor of stepping towards his youngest brother. "Please, listen to her, she know what say."
"Stay away from me!" Adahy shoved his brother back causing some of the men to take steps forward growling or hissing as they watched the chief raise his hand commanding them to stand firm.
"Brother." He tried again his voice calm now as if just seeing the truth himself. "Please, you know this wrong, you know what start this white demon," He spoke the clearing listening enraptured as a truth none knew emerged. "Wanting to make us powerful offering us land—I want it but we couldn't, not what they ask—they ask too much."
"Stop."
Onaconah ignored him and continued. "You wanted power, wanted what white demon offer and white demon only offer if pure. That where I draw line and you not but that—." His voice was comforting as if he too had let go of the hate for his brother that had threatened to consume him. "This past, I know you know wrong—that it not right path, purity not make better, you knew then, you know now you can see—you just not want admit you see."
"There is nothing to admit Onaconah, nothing," Adahy attempted to brush his words aside but something in him appeared to be faltering now but only in his posture not in his words. "I stand by what I said then, you gave away our chance to live without being shoved aside by the colonist." His eyes were wild as he spoke as if he was frantically grasping for anything to say in order to defend his stance but even he found fallacies in his words now. "If we would have just given in where would we be now, done some humans and half breeds—fine who needs them, we didn't need them to be strong!"
"Adahy, you know that lie."
"You don't know anything." Adahy threw in his face before turning back to Kagome with twinging red eyes. "You god damn whore!" He yelled and Inuyasha had to practically nail himself to the ground to keep himself from strangling the man. "Your lies have ruined everything, how could you, how?"
A calm washed over Kagome as she looked at his confused and angry face, she felt pity and understanding but most of all she felt the power in her stomach dancing. "Oh Adahy." Her eyes were soft and gentle as she spoke everyman captivated by them as she slowly closed her eyes focusing all her energy on finding the channel between her stomach and her fingertips once again. "I'm sorry," She somehow managed to speak as she felt that wave of energy start to leave her stomach washing into her very veins. "I had hoped your would open your eyes on your own like the others," She sighed and chuckled all at once as she had somehow known that this would happen. "I guess I'm still just too naive."
Below her Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat at her words, somehow they made him feel giddy. "Kagome." He whispered out as she began to glow just slightly the color starting at her navel before it began to spread.
"What?" Adahy whispered as the other men of the clearing instinctively moved away from where the Pirate leader was standing. Their demon instincts telling them that something dangerous was about to happen.
Kagome's eyes opened without a word, a smile breaking onto her face. "It's time." She told herself feeling confident as her power traveled from her stomach up into her heart and then dispersed to her right limb making its way down her arm via every vein and nerve she possessed before it reached her very fingertips where it lapped and waited for her to fully release it. "I guess it wouldn't be proper to shot him like the orb." She mumbled as she waited, thinking about what needed to be done. "No—no arrows, arrows kill." She nodded firmly no doubts in her mind about what she really needed to do, it was like a sixth sense, her knowledge of this bow.
Breathing deeply she took a step forward to the very edge of the roof holding the bow out in front of her with her right hand. She held her breath as she concentrated on the energy she had collected in her hand her fingertips tingling as she tried to find the gateway once more between skin and power. Suddenly, as if against her will, the gateway opened in a rushing colorless inferno that sparked all the way up her arm as the energy pulled into the bow turning the wood from its normal red into a brilliant white color that shone brighter than the sun.
The men in the clearing gasped at the beauty of it as Kagome held it in front of her person watching as the energy leapt about like little flames as she slowly lowered herself to the wooden rooftop placing the bow flat against the makeshift shingles. "Flow." She commanded breathily as she watched the energy obey seeping out over the rooftop like water that finds its way into a sinking boat. It poured over the side of the roof a waterfall of beautiful white that sparkled as the bright moon touched it with its sun reflected light.
And then like a tidal wave it rushed forward so fast that no one in the clearing had time to think before it hit Adahy dead on. He screamed upon contact stepping back in panic as the white pulled at his feet rooting him to the ground while it moved up his body encompassing him completely like ivy on an English House.
"No!" He screamed before his voice was drowned out by the sound of the energy sparking as it flowed over him becoming brighter and brighter until it blinded everyone in the clearing, causing them to look away or duck or shield their faces with their hands.
Inuyasha felt his skin start to tingle, not in a life threatening way but in a way that was almost comforting as if Kagome's very being was somehow connecting with him for just a moment. Surprised, he forced himself to open his eyes and look up at her as she knelt on top of the roof her hand still commanding the bow. He felt his heart take off in his chest as she stood there determination marking her face as her hair whipped about her cheeks from her own energy, the short Cherokee dress bunched at her hips as the fringe on the skirt whipped about in the supernatural wind. "Damn." He barely managed to say as he gazed at her admiring her focus and determination, the little lines on her forehead as she concentrated absolutely breathtaking.
The startled collected gasp of the crowd brought him back to the present and he turned just in time to see the white energy that was encompassing Adahy go black the clearing becoming opaque and silent as the energy stopped crackling.
The soft murmuring of confusion in the clearing met his ears as everything seemed to stand in an indeterminate state for just a second. Inuyasha breathed in, the sound of his own inhales and exhales deafening to his ears in the quiet. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath as they waited for whatever was about to happen to the form of the completely black Adahy who was so dark that he was almost impossible to see in fact, if it hadn't have been for the moon's light reflecting off the shiny blackness that encompassed him everyone would have thought he had disappeared or turned to ash.
Hesitating, Inuyasha forced himself to turn away from the bizarre sight looking back up at Kagome only to feel his breath get stuck in his throat. She was standing on the roof top once again, when she had stood up he didn't know, her eyes firmly shut as she held the bow just out of his sight. Her hair was dancing around her head a little ring of light seeming to play off of each tress as she held her pink lips in a tight line of concentration. "I've seen that face before." He noted as he felt his heart speed up in his chest. "When she's plays—when she's plays the violin." He found the memory pushing at the back of his mind. "She makes that same face."
Her eyes snapped opened then completely white as she stood up the bow now visible at her side as she raised her hands simultaneously in front of her, fingers outreached and spread wide.
"Kagome?" He found just enough breath to whisper before she brought her fingers in front of her stomach holding them as low as she possibly could before bringing them back up fast above her head.
The shouts made him whip his head around just in time to see the black being lifted off of Adahy's body and into the air in the same pattern Kagome's hands had just moved. Adahy gasped as the blackness completely left him, panting as if he had been under water throughout the whole ordeal before he fell forward onto his hands and knees the blackness above him drifting off into nothing; dissipating in the air just as it had the last time Kagome had purified a heart.
The clearing watched in silence as the black seemed to wash away in the sky like rising smoke. No one dared to speak as if by a premeditated agreement that is until the disoriented Adahy took a step forward his eyes no longer wild but dazed and completely lost. "Wh—," He started to speak before those confused eyes rolled back in his head and he fell flat to his back.
"Brother!" Onaconah yelled as he rushed towards the younger man the clearing turning into an uproar of voices in response as hundreds of people tried to understand what had just occurred all at the same time. "Adahy—Adahy," Onaconah called as he fell before his brother his hand automatically going towards the boys cheek to turn his face around. "Adahy!" He called to him hoping his eyes would open but got no response. "Ho-wo-tsu." He pleaded with the boy as he smoothed Adahy's sweaty hair from his face.
Behind him just coming out of the same daze that had surrounded everyone else Inuyasha just barely managed to find his voice. "Onaconah." He called out the name as he took a step forward the man not responding right away as he stared at his brother seeming at a loss for what to do. "Onaconah—it's okay, he's okay." Inuyasha tried again, something in his words or tone this time catching the chieftain's attention.
"Common Dog?" He mumbled as he turned and looked at the other man surprised. "What?"
"He's okay." Inuyasha repeated. "Kagome—she didn't kill him," Inuyasha let his words sink in for just a moment before he continued. "She just purified his heart."
"She what?" Onaconah turned around completely frazzled.
"Kagome took the unfounded hate from his heart." Inuyasha spoke gently as he too stared in awe, aware of what was happening but still in disbelief. "When he wakes up he'll be able to see—see the truth."
"You mean," Onaconah looked at Inuyasha with so much hope in his eyes that Inuyasha was surprised he could still see. "He won't hate people, his people—hate human anymore?"
"Yeah, he'll be able to see, he just needed a little more help than everyone before he could." Inuyasha gave him a smile that reached his golden eyes but the smile wasn't for Onaconah's peace, or for all that had just been rectified, it was for Kagome. "She did it." Inuyasha told himself as he drug his head back to Kagome and took in the sight of her standing above the shocked mass of people. "She's absolutely amazing." He smiled before he allow the corner if his mouth to droop into a frown as he took in the sight of her: she was panting from her spot on the roof, her skin appearing sweaty in the moonlight. He felt panic well into his heart at the sight of her reddened cheeks his mind flashing back to that scary time so long ago:
He watched in horror as she fell to the ground landing flat on her back his heart stopping in his chest at the very sight, "Kagome!" Her name had been on his lips as he dashed towards her fallen form skidding to a stop beside her falling to his knees. "Kagome?" He whispered his hand reaching to touch her cheek as he neared her, his eyes worried as he studied her pale features. "Something's wrong." He realized his hands beginning to shake at the sight of the lack of color in her cheeks and lips.
The world stopped, he felt his heart fall all the way to his stomach lodging itself in the pit before it jumped into his throat. He reached forward and touched Kagome's cheek, it was ghastly white. His thumb hovered over her lips with agonizing slowness, they felt cold—they shouldn't have felt that cold, not after such exertion. His breath started to come out in pants as his eyes blinked back rapidly building tears.
"No" The word came both from the memory and from his current state.
"Mate, danger, mate!"
The demon inside of him practically screamed as he bent his knees and jumped the vast distance between them only having to land one more time before he managed to propel himself back onto the roof and rush to her side. "Kagome?" He called to her as he grabbed her shoulders turning her around to look at him taking in her slightly pale skin as his heart stopped in his chest. "This can't happen again." He told himself fear gripping him intensely as he remembered their previous conversation only the day before.
"The spirit," She began to tell the truth. "In that world told me that I only get one chance, that I only get one session of rest, next time I use my powers to the extreme—," She had hesitated for only a second. "I'll die."
"She can't go back there," He felt the thought run through his mind like a plague of doubt. "I won't let her." He held onto her shoulders tightly. "I need her here, she has to stay here." The thoughts kept swirling in his head as she finally looked up at him her skin flushed and not pale, her eyes sparkling and not mute. "Kagome," Her name just barely slipped out before he managed to finish his sentence. "Talk to me!" He shook her ever so slight trying to get her to respond in any way she might be able. "Are you okay?"
"Mate!" His demon blood cried out within his mind as well a backdrop to his galloping heart. "Mate, danger."
"Inuyasha?" She whispered, a smile already forming on her face as she tilted her chin and looked up at him with dazzling grey eyes. "Of course." She told him honestly holding up the bow as if all reasoning right now should have been obvious. "I've got the bow everything's fine."
Inuyasha stared at her for several seconds his eyes seeing her without seeing her, his mind thinking without thinking. "Is she really okay?" He found himself hard pressed to believe his words and unconsciously the demon in him scented the air taking in all of her sea salt and lily scent looking for any sign of ill health that rested there—he smelt none. "She's okay." He heard the voice in the back of his mind as his heart rate started to slow and his panic made way for relief that seemed to stretch all the way to her toes. "She's alive." The words seemed to just barely reach his senses. "Kagome's alive."
"Mate safe." His demon sounded confident but also nervous a sensation Inuyasha had never before experienced with his demon side. He shook the notion off just as he noticed her pink lips moving once more. He stared at them transfixed as he tried or better yet just barely attempted to hear her as she continued to speak.
"This bow really is a wonder—," She looked at him with those bright and alive grey eyes.
His eyes couldn't help but move away from her lips to look at her charming irises taking them in and seeing them in a way he had never seen before. They were so beautiful, so stunning that he couldn't imagine them being gone, couldn't imagine them leaving this world, couldn't imagine waking up without them there to greet him, couldn't imagine living a day of his life without seeing them again. Those eyes were far too rare to live without, far to amazing too ever part from, far too exotic to ever let slip away. "Kagome." He felt the word form in his head and every connotation that came with it shaped as well. He could see her smile, her laugh as it reached all the way from her lips to her nose and even the creases of thought in her forehead. He could see her on the Shikuro violin in hand or leaning over the rail's edge. He could see her glowing with a power he barely comprehended, he could see her reciting Shakespeare and Milton, lines of 'Comas' on her lips, he could see her—all he could see was her.
"—I couldn't believe it," She continued looking away from Inuyasha and down at Adahy excited.
He watched as her hair just barely brushed her shoulders while she turned. The little curls on the ends of each strand bounced with her motion catching Inuyasha's eye as he gazed at her unable to take his eyes away. He felt his grip on her shoulders loosen as she continue to look away her excitement and apparent safety making him feel more and more relaxed as he watched on enjoying her sweet naivety.
"I don't even feel tired." She turned and looked at him again her pink lips moist with her own delight.
Once again he found himself face to face with those pink lips his memories of her turning to the taste, the flavor he just barely remembered.
"Mate."
He heard his demon say that word once more as he grew more and more distracted, just barely registering that she was still speaking, as his mind tried to wrap around his own unmade thoughts. "She's alive—," The words teetered off. "My Kagome's alive." He heard the voice in his head but for the life of him couldn't figure out whose voice it was, in this moment he doubted he would even be able to tell someone his own name. All he could do was stare at her lips looking at her thinking how much, how much, how much—
"This is so different than before." Unaware of anything Inuyasha was thinking Kagome continued to talk in glee, happy to have finally understood and controlled something so uncontrollable without nearly dying afterwards. "I feel absolutely exhilerat—."
Her sentence never finished however, as Inuyasha leaned forward in a rush of silver bangs and forelocks not even realizing what he was doing as his hands came back up to grasp her shoulders tightly pulling her forward as his face rushed down to met her, his lips finding and pressing against her own as his eyes closed. He sighed against her lips, his heart so consumed by warmth and happiness and relief that he couldn't even comprehend his own actions. "She's alive—," His mind kept repeating over and over again as he held onto her and pressed his lips more firmly against her own, needing to feel her, needing to know that she was a living breathing creature that he could touch, feel, kiss. "She's alive."
Kagome gasped into his mouth in utter shock her mind unable to fathom what exactly was happening to her as those gentle lips made a home over her own. Her heart pounded in her chest, her mind ran away from her trying to think of any reason, in any city in any country or for that matter on any continent, why this was happening and why it was happening now. "I can't—," She thought to herself as she closed her eyes slowly sinking. "I can't think." Her mind taunted before she lost herself to the sensation and lightly pressed her lips back against his own the sudden shift in pressure as she responded causing Inuyasha's mind to reawaken.
"What the hell am I doing!" He barely had time to think before he pulled away their lips disengaging with an actual smack as two sets of eyes popped opened to gawk at one another looking absolutely as shocked as the other did. They both stared not knowing what to say or what to do as they panted in disbelief. "I—," His voice caught in his throat as his lips tingled from the brief connection. "I'm," He froze before barely getting out in a rush of air. "I'm glad it worked."
"Oh," She barely managed to make the 'o' shape with her mouth as she looked at him her face heating up. "What just happened?" She questioned silently as she resisted the urge to bring a hand up to her lips that were still warm from the contact. "That was—he—w-w-what?" Her mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened.
Watching the confusion passing across her face Inuyasha gulped feeling utterly the fool. "What the fuck man!" He yelled at himself as he watched her cheeks turn redder and redder with each passing moment. "I—." He tried to speak again hoping beyond hope that he could fix this somehow, he had to fix this somehow. "Kago—," He almost spoke before a wall met his ears.
"Otou-san, Kagome!"
Dragging their eyes away from each other, they both looked down below just in time to see a sight for literal sore eyes.
"Miroku." Inuyasha whispered with a shake of his head not sure if he should be glad to see his son up and about or mad that Miroku had interrupted him before he could speak. "Maybe," He found himself grimacing as the thoughts trailed off. "I should just—," He glanced at Kagome. "Be glad." Beside him, so relieved to see the faces of Sango and Miroku alive, Kagome squealed the pitch of her voice causing him to smash his ears to his head. "Ow!"
"We saw everything!" Sango called up to them only Inuyasha really taking in what Sango's words possibly entailed. "Kagome you were amazing," The older woman continued to gush as she clutched onto Miroku keeping the man balanced as he stood on one leg. "How did you do that?"
"Oh my god!" Kagome cried out as she practically jumped towards the edge of the roof evading the question for now because her delight was far too great to allow one moments focus on anything but the living people before her. "I was so worried."
"We were worried about you too Kagome!" Sango yelled in response the older girls eyes filling with tears before a small fury boy jumped up on her arm.
"Kagome!" The childlike voice carried on the breeze towards them happy and enthused.
"Shippo!" Sango yelled in surprise before grabbing the little kit with both hands causing Miroku to lose his balance and put weight on his bad leg.
"Fuck!" Miroku screamed as his face went deathly pale from the sudden stabbing pain in his leg. "Damn it Sango!"
"I'm sorry but shit," Sango exclaimed as she grabbed him pulling him back up to a stand. "You don't have to cuss at me." The irony of the statement was not lost on her as she smiled and held him tighter.
Inuyasha watched the exchange his mind racing through a million different questions as he stood there thinking of what had just happened, of what Sango and Miroku might or might not have seen. Briefly, he glanced around them at the clearing watching as men from two different tribes were reunited, crying and gushing, hugging and talking rapidly.
"That's it." He told himself with a distinct nod. "I was just overcome, like these men." He continued to bob his head up and down as he looked out around him watching as Onaconah looked down at his younger brother watching as the man lay still passed out from his ordeal on the ground. For a moment Inuyasha fixated on the man, his own problems disappearing as he watched Onaconah look down at his brother with affection. "I know Kagome only purified Adahy but—," He frowned deeply. "Onaconah seems different as well, they all do."
The feel of Kagome's hands grabbing onto his arm pulled him out of his musings. "I can't get down by myself." She spoke hastily her eyes actually still on Sango as she tugged at his sleeve practically begging him to help her. "Please."
"Sure." He whispered as he grabbed her around the waist feeling her body only slightly stiffen as he touched her hip. For just a second he felt like he should say something but as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes he lost his nerve. "Stupid." He told himself as he turned away from her preying to any god that might listen that he hadn't just screwed everything up.
Easily, he jumped down landing on the ground and released Kagome so she could plow forward grabbing hold of Shippo who hurled himself at her. "I was so scared—!" The little boy cried as he went into a tangent about never being left behind again.
Inuyasha couldn't help but smile at the small child as he walked over to Miroku carefully disengaging the pup from Sango without a word to the girl who immediately joined Kagome's side asking question after question about everything she had witnessed.
Slowly, Inuyasha brought Miroku's good arm around his own neck supporting him with his other arm around Miroku's waist to hold him steady against his side. "How'd you get over here?" He asked without preamble once Miroku was arranged just well enough, glancing at the younger man out of the corner of his eyes to check for any signs of discomfort.
Miroku merely smirked as he leaned heavily against his father the pain in his leg and his free arm starting to make him feel nauseous. "How else?" He threw in his father's face with a smug laugh. "We walked."
Inuyasha snorted at the words and shook his head. "I thought I told you to stay put?" His voice came out disappointed and angry but his body language told of a completely different story as he slowly made his way to the side of the hut being extra careful not to jar any part of Miroku's body.
"Ya did," Miroku agreed as he hobbled on one leg, secretly thankful that the Captain was the one helping him along now. He had been grateful for Sango's help but she was a human and there was just no way a human could move someone with the same amount of ease as a demon. "But when we noticed all the people fighting had moved down here," He grunted as they reached the hut, the Captain lifting Miroku's good arm over his head and out of the way before turning him around and helping him to lower himself to the wall. "We figured we'd make our move."
"I see," Inuyasha nodded slightly as he stepped back allowing Miroku some room to breathe. "So you saw Kagome?"
"Yeah—," Miroku told him honestly as he carefully inspected his leg. It didn't look all that much worse than it had when the Captain had last seen it but it was swelling a little bit and the flesh was pinkish around some of the darker burns. He frowned as he thought to reach out and touch the wound but then decided against it as he thought of the amount of pain that might put him in. Looking away from his busted leg he turned his attention back to his father. "How'd she do that, anyway?"
"I'll tell you later," Inuyasha gave him a fond smile knowing Miroku had not seen the kiss if he was still talking to him about things like mysterious and unexplainable power. "Right now we got some people to find and a hell of lot of stuff to clean up."
Miroku looked up from his leg in time to gaze out around him and take in the sight of the pirate Captain Adahy as a man dressed in Cherokee clothing slowly checked his vitals. "You'll have to fill me in." He mumbled as he silently questioned, "I wonder if he's dead?" before turning and looking at Kagome just briefly, at the girls smile and happy demeanor—Somehow he just couldn't see her killing anyone despite the circumstances. "Still," He frowned as he glanced over his tortured body. "How would anyone forgive such people?" His eyes turned their attention to the other men in the clearing. He recognized a few instantly and actually blanched when he saw one man in particular he knew had been responsible for his injuries walking freely away from them. "We're just gonna let them go?"
Inuyasha inhaled deeply. "It's a long story Miroku," He told him honestly as he watched Onaconah slowly help his brother sit up. "I promise I'll tell you everything but right now it's just—." His eyes wandering even further over his surroundings landing on the form of Kagome who was still talking to Sango and Shippo, "It's just a real mess."
"It is a mess, ain't it?" Miroku agreed truthfully before glancing back at his own mangled flesh and smirking. "Since I'm hurt I'm not gonna have to clean nothing, am I?"
"Yeah." Inuyasha whispered but he wasn't talking about the battlefield nor Miroku's leg—he was thinking of Kagome Dresmont's lips and the look in her magnificent grey eyes when he pulled back and saw her shocked face. "What the hell did I do?" He questioned once more, hate over his own actions consuming him.
A few feet away from them Kagome held onto Shippo tightly rocking the kit back and forth in her arms, the bow discarded on the ground beside her for now so she could hold him. "I'm sorry Shippo." She whispered into his small pointed demon ears. "You must have been terrified."
The little boy nodded his head in confirmation as he buried his nose into the soft deer skin taking in her scent of salt water and lilies with poignant need. "I missed you." He whispered against her clothes before pulling his head back and looking over at Sango to include her in his statement as well. "You too."
"Right back at ya." Sango smiled sweetly at the child as she spoke, so happy that he had been kept out of harm's way.
Kagome smiled at the exchange as her eyes went to pass over the crowd taking in the countless people who were now uninfluenced by the negative power of the jewel. Her heart warmed as she watched brother be reunited with brother and uncle with nephew and even fathers with sons. She knew it was her doing and she felt proud to have done such a great dead. Still one thought haunted her: "Was this jewel always evil though, Onaconah said it helped them before?" She thought to herself as her eyes wandered in a more dangerous direction without her realizing. "Maybe it was purified before but when Adahy stole it by killing his niece-in-law that changed—."
Kagome's thoughts froze as she looked at Inuyasha her mind not even able to think the moment her eyes landed on him. He wasn't looking at her, thank god, but just the sight of him battle worn and beat up but still so tall and regal made her heart skip a beat and then plummet into her stomach. Her lips tingled even though it had been several minutes since they had been engaged with his own and she unconsciously held Shippo a little tighter before ripping her eyes away, her mind not even able to deal with her feelings at this particular moment.
Looking for any distraction she could find she eventually came to focus on Onaconah's youngest son, knelling next to his father and uncle. It was a good distraction as her mind focused on the feelings that must be going through that man's head. "His wife's murderer." She acknowledged as she watched the boys expression. It should have been tight and angry and full of hatred but it wasn't, it looked more pitying than anything as he watched his uncle with dark eyes.
For his part Adahy didn't move, his eyes opened now and awake but hollow as if just now coming to terms with his own crimes. She felt a pang in her chest at the sight, knowing the memories Adahy would still live with would forever haunt him but at least now he could see his errors and begin to change. Unable to look any more, she turned her head away, her eyes lighting on a tiny girl who stood not even more than two or three feet away from her grandfather, father, and great uncle.
"Shiori." Kagome remembered the name as she studied the little girl who was staring at the shattered orb as her father and grandfather tended to her uncle. "She's a half demon, right?" She narrowed her eyes as another thought struck her. "A half demon shouldn't be able to touch the Shikon and I'd assume that orb by extension—that's strange," Her arms tightened subconsciously around Shippo as she vaguely registered the little girl moving away from her father towards the shattered orb. "I guess the crystal casing around the jewel acted like a barrier—but now." Kagome's eyes went wide as her understanding grew just in time to realize the danger that was about to befall the small child reaching for the jewel.
"Shiori no!" She screamed as she unceremoniously dumped Shippo into Sango's arms and sprinted across the clearing faster than humanly possible her cry ringing in all the gathered men's ears so loud that they snapped their heads around towards her in panic assuming that someone was about to be attacked.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha called after her as he too took off in her direction abandoning a confused Miroku as he watched Kagome fall to her knees beside Shiori, grabbing desperately for the girl and yanking her backwards into her arms, pulling her away just in time to prevent the child from making any contact with the jewel. The little girl cried out scared at the sudden loud voice and unfamiliar hold.
"Ga-do-a-na-du-ne?" Her father screamed from behind Kagome reaching into the young woman's arms to yank his daughter out of what, all his instincts told him, might be harm's way. "Hi `ya-a que `tsi."
"I'm sorry." Kagome looked up into the scared father's face not knowing what the man was saying and also knowing that Onaconah's son spoke no English. "I was trying to protect her, that's all." She spoke honestly, just as she noticed the presence of Inuyasha at her side his hands up in front of him as he slowly made his way to stand in front of her taking the angry demon's attention away from Kagome to himself.
For a moment his mind raced as he tried to think of anything to say that might calm the irate man who was growling low in his chest as he held his still crying daughter. "What should I say?" He questioned himself as the very few Cherokee words he had been exposed to in the last couple of days replayed in his head none of them quite fitting the current situation as most of them were words for food or medicine. "Come on Inuyasha—come on think!" He growled to himself before one word popped into his head. "Gaest-ost yuh-wa da-nv-ta." He spoke without a second thought his hands still held before his face.
Onaconah's oldest son could only look at Inuyasha with pure shock written on his face as the demon spoke to him in his native tongue. "Tla-i-go-li-ga." He spoke his voice now calmer but unfortunately the extent of Inuyasha's Cherokee ended with the phrase "I'm sorry" and not with whatever the boy had just said.
"Damn it." He groused low in his throat but luckily for once some higher being had looked down on him and felt just sorry enough to give him a reprieve.
"Storm Eyes?" Onaconah's voice hit their ears and they all turned back to the demon chief who had not moved only because he held his nearly catatonic brother tightly in his arms.
"It's okay Onaconah." Kagome jumped on the opportunity of telling him before either Inuyasha or the father could speak. "Shiori was about to touch the jewel." She spoke clearly as she took a step towards Onaconah. "So I stopped her and I guess that startled her tremendously." She concluded as she stood to her feet and brushed some of the dirt from her clothes.
Onaconah gave Kagome a nod of understanding. "Yes you tell that before." He gave Adahy a brief glance checking to see if the man had taken any interest in the conversation—he hadn't—so he continued. "The orb casing seem protect her."
"I think so too." Kagome agreed with him as she bowed her head almost apologetically. "Now that the casing's gone, it could hurt her to touch it."
Onaconah nodded his head and turned to his son translating what had just happened quickly into Cherokee. After several long minutes Onaconah's youngest son still cradling his daughter nodded his head sharply towards Kagome in a sign of understanding as well. Kagome sighed in relief at the sign bowing her head towards him before turning back to Shiori.
"I'm sorry I scared you." She told the little girl honestly as she watched the deep black eyes of the small child turn to gaze at her.
"It's okay." She spoke gently in English, her lack of accent apparent in her sweet voice. "I understand—E-do-di explained that demons can't touch it without the crystal around it." She pointed at the small silver of jewel.
Kagome nodded quickly, "That's right, the casing protected you so you could use it."
"I guess jewel no longer have purpose in our village," Onaconah's voice broke into the mini conversation. "It once used protect village," He filled her in as his son watched on silently holding his daughter with one arm while the other petted her head. "Orb would shield all left behind protecting them while men away." He shook his head slowly back and forth. "But," Onaconah continued his face looking sad but accepting. "Orb no more house jewel so this no more matter."
"Yeah." Kagome frowned and bit her lip, the gem that she now wore around her neck warming slightly as if commanding her. On instinct, she stepped forward and knelt on the ground once more reaching amongst the shattered glass for the Shikon. It shimmered in her hand for a few seconds becoming even whiter if it was at all possible upon making contact with her. As if somehow knowing what the glow meant, Kagome reached inside her dress and produced another glowing piece of gemstone this one larger and just as sparkling white.
Onaconah, his son, granddaughter, and Inuyasha all watched with different levels of amazement cast upon their faces as she easily brought the new shard up to met the others on the golden chain. The big gem secured to her neck flared brightly the second they came in contact with the new shard and right before everyone's eyes combined with it, the two sections seeming to melt into one another as she held them together in her palm.
"Pretty." Shiori whispered as she watched her dark eyes reflecting the glow until it faded away and in its place remained nothing more than a slightly larger piece of gemstone.
"You combine it with other gem?" Onaconah questioned as Kagome let the gem fall against her chest.
"Yes, I added it to the collection." She fingered the gem lightly as Onaconah stood.
Just then Adahy groaned in Onaconah's arms causing the old chieftain to redirect his attention to his brother. He looked at the man's flushed cheeks and vacant eyes with worry for several seconds before standing up and holding onto the man with one arm around Adahy's waist and the other motioning for his son while speaking in Cherokee. After a brief conversation he turned back towards Kagome and smiled. "We be back as soon we lay him down, he—," The old man looked down at his brother worry lines making up his face. "Not well."
"Go ahead." Kagome offered and watched them leave with a proud feeling prickling her chest. She was proud to have found another piece of the jewel, proud she had purified it, proud she had taken Adahy's hate away, proud that she was slowly fulfilling her promise to Kaede but at the same time she found a worming guilty feeling entering her heart. She had taken away a source of protection from these people, at least, at one time it had been a source of protection but now it was around her neck and she couldn't give it back. "I wish there was a way they could have an orb without the jewel shard."
"There is."
Kagome's eyes snapped opened and she looked around herself in shock, beside her Inuyasha frowned and she caught the look just out of the corner of her eye but couldn't bring herself to say a word—she couldn't even bring herself to look at him right now. Inhaling deeply and trying to look nonchalant she responded in her mind: "There's a way?" and waited for the voice of the spirit she had just met this very day to respond.
"Your power."
"My power?" She fired back completely dazed. "I can't just package my power it's not a Tea Set!" She grumbled but no response came and she huffed blowing her bangs upwards catching the eyes of Inuyasha as he looked at her appraisingly. She blushed ever so slightly and turned away from him doing her best to continue ignoring him. "That's not even possible." Kagome frowned to herself as her eyes wandered to the broken fragments of the orb.
She taped her fingers against the Shikon that rested just above her breast, the tips of her fingers tensing as if they knew the idea before she even had it. Her power swirled in her stomach awakening within her once more a fleeting thought entering her mind as her stomach tightened against it.
"Could I—," She questioned as she looked down at her hand that held the jewel. "Put my power in a container?" She frowned darkly for several seconds before laughing at herself mentally so as to no draw anymore of Inuyash'sa attention."Silly Kagome," She told herself. "Even if you could how would they channel it from the container—." Kagome froze just as she heard Onaconah on the porch once more reemerging from Adahy's house where he had laid the man down. With a mind all its own she turned and looked at him, just noticing Sango holding onto Miroku as they came towards them out of the corner of her eyes, the tiny Shippo walking slowly beside them Kagome's bow in his small hands barely able to carry the cumbersome thing. "Could they channel it?"
"He shouldn't be moving!"
She heard Inuyasha voice but didn't turn to watch as he stomped over to Sango scolding both the woman and his son as Miroku brushed off his words with a laugh that made Inuyasha growl. No, Kagome didn't hear anything or see anything, she simply stared at Onaconah who had stopped in his tracks once he realized she was looking at him. "Onaconah." His name was barely whispered by her as she took a step forward catching the arguing Inuyasha and Miroku's attention. "How did you channel the power in the orb?"
"Threw pathways in bodies." He answered evenly as he looked at her unsure. "We know path of power in our body, when channel we bring power out from orb and push it into world."
"Really?" Kagome licked her lips. "So you can channel power but not create it?"
"We not like you," He shrugged. "We no have power in us but we know how use outside power in us."
"Kagome," Inuyasha took a step forward her name sounding nervous on his lips. "What are you thinking?"
She didn't hesitate to look at him this time, her expression was much too focused on something else to feel embarrassed about what had transpired moments before. "Something a little crazy I think." She answered him but didn't wait for a response as she turned and looked at the shattered crystal. "If I can fuse the jewel together, could I fuse crystal?" She spoke out loud but everyone present seemed to know that the question was directed at herself.
Inuyasha thought to step forward but found his body rooted to the ground for reasons he couldn't even begin to explain. Perhaps, he already knew that he could trust Kagome and that she knew what she was doing or better yet, subconsciously, he wasn't ready to face her after the earlier incident so his body wouldn't allow him to move. Either way, he stood still his feet nailed down as Kagome lowered herself in front of the orb.
She reached forward cautiously before wavering, her hand held up in midair. Then with a look of determination crossing her face she reached forward and placed the palm of her hand over the shattered glass. There really wasn't that much of it on the ground, the gem had not been that large but still her fingers had to splay out far to cover the area properly. She breathed in deeply and then just like before the gems began to glow sliding towards one another turning almost liquid as they stumbled towards each other over the sand. Kagome's hand raised as more and more of the tiny fragments combined into a liquid ball, her hand hovering over it until every piece of the puzzle of glass had come together. Finally, the orb complete, she exhaled her puff of air seeming to make the liquid pieces return to a solid form once more.
She smiled at her own work as the others around her went in and out of differing states of shock. "What just happened?" Sango whispered but no one responded to her or even flinched at her words, most likely because they all were wondering it to.
Still on the ground Kagome moved her hand away from the orb, her fingers probing for something as she stared at it only to come up short. Finally, she raised her head to look around her person, her eyebrows knitted in confusion as she whispered, "My bow."
"I got it!" Shippo chimed in before anyone could respond and jumped the short distance from Miroku's side to Kagome's the bow rocking in his fingertips as he struggled to keep a hold on it.
"Thank you Shippo," She just managed to smile as she took it from him reaching forward and patting his head gingerly with her other hand as she closed her eyes appearing fond but something in her expression seemed distant and almost reserved. "Go stand beside Inuyasha now, okay?" Her voice was cheery but just like her look seemed off.
The small kit hesitated and looked at her for several seconds before Inuyasha stepped forward his gold eyes filled with both worry and knowledge. Carefully, he bent down eyes still on Kagome as his hands went around Shippo and picked him up, holding the kit to him as he looked down at just the top of her head. "Are you sure?" He whispered out, his mind yelling at him for allowing this, telling him he was being foolish that she would die, go to the white, and leave him all alone again. But a more rational side repeated over and over again the words of Captain Roberts, "Trust yer gut." They were words he knew better, now, than to ignore.
"Do you trust me?" She questioned softly, her eyes on the little crystal orb and not on him.
"More than anyone or anything." He responded using her very words without thought or need to think. For a moment he thought he saw her grin but just for a moment.
Kagome didn't look back at them as she held the bow tightly in her hand, her stomach knotting as her power begged and pleaded with her to come out as if it already knew (she was starting to believe that it always knew before her what needed to be done.) Closing her eyes she followed the path, knowing exactly how to move the energy from her stomach and then through her veins, feeling the strange warming sensation as it flew through her arm to her fingers and then straight into the bow, the light encompassing it once more.
"Direct it to the orb." She ordered herself as she pushed the energy through the bow just as she had with Adahy and aimed it for the orb. It washed out onto the sand like a little stream much smaller than it had been with Adahy and like a tidal wave hit the orb dead on, washing over it before absorbing into it. She waited only a few more seconds before she cut all connection off between her stomach and her fingers, the last of her power moving hastily over the sand before disappearing into the new orb and flashing a bright pink once then twice before going white.
Everyone around her blinked not sure what the hell was happening, the men who filled the clearing having not so much as moved since she had started but now they found themselves tiptoeing forward wanting to know, needing to know, what the mystical girl had done. They all jumped slightly when Kagome turned around abruptly and gave everyone Inuyasha, Onaconah, Miroku, Shippo, and Sango a large bright smile that filled not just her mouth but her grey eyes as well. She looked so proud of herself, so genuinely happy that the people before her found it hard to breathe.
"There," She said her voice back to normal, truly joyful once more, and her expression all her own. "Problem solved."
End of Chapter
Please Review
Congrats Alice's_Secret_Lover95 for being reviewer 1400!
A/N: Hope you guys aren't getting bored. I went back and changed up last chapter a little bit by the way. Nothing major. Also, if you go back to the first couple of chapters I am beginning to edit them for content. I am adding in real accents for foreigners that will apply to all further chapters. For instance, Myoga and Totosai will now have true Japanese accents. So don't be surprised by that. But I just thought I'd let everyone know.
I hope to have another chapter out by next Sunday. I will try my best. Till then I hope you're enjoying the extent of her power oh and the kiss! Took long enough right?
Bonus Point:
Does Inuyasha actually ever kiss Kagome in the anime or manga?
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
Sango's Weapon is Hiraikotsu (she is also known to use swords and stuff as well.) Miroku on the other hand (pun intended) has a less physical weapon, Kazaana (Literal translation would be 'air hole' or 'wind hole') but he also carries around a the Shakujo (staff) that he uses as a physical weapon. Congrats to the winners!
AKEMI SHIKON, kokoronagomu, alices_secret_lover95, cristine44, ravenraymoon, Jemzet A Heart Broken Angel, Spav12, AnimeNerd1, Bonus Point, HentaiLemon, scorpioprincess18, HeavenlyEclipse, xxsetsukoxx, avengeme, L.C, Guest2, TheRealInuyasha, Guest1, Guest3, Glon Morski, 14 inu-kag
Next Chapter:
N/A
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED 7/22/2012