Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
A/N: Alright everybody, I have finally decided to answer some of the deeper questions of the story. I tried to keep things serious and flowing easily, but I've got a major sugar high going on right now …(silly Bruce gave me some candy! But hey, I'm an adult who doesn't drink, I've gotta have some way to let loose right?) …so I'm not sure how successful I was. If you guys have got good suggestions for improvements I might not be adverse to taking them. On a more personal and completely unrelated note, I think it's funny how everyone assumes I'm female. I mean, it's true of course, but I don't think I've ever said as much. Hmmm, I must be transparent.
Chapter 11 – Finally some answers!
Kikyou led a still weeping Kagome back inside their home and onto the couch, sitting her down between herself and Inuyasha. The latter seemed to have taken Kagome's clinginess in stride and Kikyou was very touched and grateful for his acceptance of her baby sister. It was beyond important to her that the two get along, and she saw before her evidence of their deepening relationship with each other. Kagome saw Inu as a big brother, and Inu saw her as a little sister. The fact that Kagome's aura was probably softening him up a bit didn't hurt either.
"Why?" whimpered Kagome. "Why do these things happen to me? Why do others seek to take control of my life and strip me of my dignity and freedom?"
"Kagome dear," her mother said as she drew up a chair to be close to her, "it's time you face who you really are. Only then will you begin to understand why people like Stanton and Sesshoumaru are attracted to you."
"Is it because I'm a miko?" Kagome asked through her tears. "If that's the reason then why me when I know I'm not as strong or as well trained as you and Kikyou..."
"You're only half right darling," Mia smiled fondly at her daughter. "It is because you are a miko, but a very special kind of miko, and though you could argue that Kikyou and I are a bit more trained and polished than you, it is time you realized that you are by far the most powerful. Part of growing up dear is being able to admit that the ones we've looked up to throughout our childhood are not invincible, and have weaknesses as well."
"I don't understand, how can you think I'm more powerful? Everything I've done you and Kikyou could do too!"
"Actually you're wrong, dear heart," Kikyou said softly. "Mother and I have never been able to tap energy sources beyond our own. Not only have you found energy outside yourself in the world around you, but you've even succeeded in taking it from other beings, like you did with Inuyasha earlier tonight."
"Keh, and boy am I grateful that that can't be done by others. It really sucked you know," he said grinning at Kagome who seemed rather sheepish. "On top of which, in all the hundreds of years I've known Sesshoumaru I've never seen anyone actually throw the bastard out of their house and get away with it." At this statement his eyes lit up a like a little kid on Christmas. "That was one of the best moments of my life!"
Kagome groaned. "I have a feeling that is going to come back and bite me in the rear!"
"Which again brings us to why, my dear," Mia interjected. "As I said, you are a very special type of miko. Normal mikos have spiritual powers, but every few hundred years a miko comes along who is more than that, who has the powers of the very earth. It's been as long as seven hundred since the last, which was Midoriko. You, my daughter, are a Gaean miko, so called because your soul is a sister to the soul of the earth, Gaea. That is why you can draw on the powers of other living things and the elements, because you are family to the very soul who creates and governs all life. It's just like how the three of us can draw from each other because we are family." Mia gestured to herself and her daughters. She stopped to judge her daughter's reaction but was only met with three gaping faces. "The presence you draw on is the power and soul of nature herself. Once you master your power you will be able to manipulate any element, or any living thing's life force to your will." The three younger people still sat staring at Mia, though soon after Inuyasha's gaze shifted to Kagome with an analytic air. Finally, after five minutes of silence Kagome spoke up.
"Mother, are you nuts?" she asked bewildered. "I mean seriously, are you delusional or something?" Fear, frustration and unbelief were all flickering across her face. "How can any of this possibly be true?"
"Dear heart you have to admit it makes sense," Kikyou said. "Think about it, how much you love nature how we can't keep you away from water, how you love to touch everything from trees to rocks, and just grin like an idiot whenever you're camping. Remember how when the house exploded you were the only one who wasn't burned? It must have been because you could control the fire, or it recognized you." Kagome was shaking her head. "And mother is right, you are stronger than we are. Sesshoumaru-sama thought so the first time he saw you."
The mention of the taiyoukai made Kagome's aura flare with anger. "Okay, so let's just suspend reality for a moment here. Let's pretend I am what you say I am, then how do people like Sesshoumaru and Stanton fit in?"
"They are drawn to your power," Mia said simply. "As you have progressed in your abilities it has become more noticeable. More than just Sesshoumaru will be calling soon to try and get you on their side."
"When I had to go through that whole thing with Stanton, I thought he had picked me because I was weak," Kagome said darkly, looking at the floor. "I decided to join with Micah because I thought I could protect myself and my family by doing so, and now you're telling me that I only aggravated the problem? If that's the case then I should never have trained in the first place!" During this last statement her head had shot up and she glared at her mother. "If you knew this then why didn't you stop me!"
"Kagome you made the right choice," her mother said soothingly. "Had you not bettered yourself you would have been an easier target to control. And as for pairing Sesshoumaru-sama with the likes of Stanton I must say I think they had very different reasons for their interest in you. Stanton sought to rule, to enslave your power, whereas I think Sesshoumaru merely wants to train and guide you."
"Were you listening to him mother!" the younger woman screeched bitterly. "He tried to force me to live with him! He was going to take me away without even asking permission let alone my opinion!"
"Yeah but that's just how he is Kagome," Inuyasha interrupted to the surprise of all three women. "His natural personality is to be a jerk to everyone. He never asks permission, and he rarely ever asks for anybody's opinion. I'm not defending him, but just realize his being an asshole had nothing to do with you personally, he's always like that." He looked around tentatively trying to gauge their reaction, and to his surprise Kagome had quieted a little and Kikyou waved at him, encouraging him to go further. "I know he is impossible to get along with, and I don't ever think you should just roll over for him. Hell, I think it'd be great if you purified Sesshoumaru's eyebrow off like you did with Miroku the next time he tries to pull a stunt like he did tonight!"
"What Inuyasha is trying to say," cut in Kikyou who decided she didn't like the glint in Kagome's eye when she heard 'Sesshoumaru' and 'purified' in the same sentence, "is that perhaps you should try to compromise with him. He is the best person to help train you…"
"I can't," muttered Kagome. "At least not right now. It's still pretty hard just to believe the whole bit about me being a sister to the earth."
"That's fair," Mia replied. "Take some time dear, but just realize you can't take forever."
"I think you should also be aware of something else," Inuyasha said, his eyes looking a little wary. "Sesshoumaru has been waiting for you."
"Waiting?" asked Kagome. "What do you mean waiting?"
"Well it's like Mia said," he explained. "Gaean mikos usually show every couple hundred years, and it's been way longer than that. Sesshoumaru has been searching for the next of your kind for a couple of centuries now. He realizes how important you are, and he's always been dead set on being involved one way or another. He won't give up on you that easily, so just be prepared okay?" He seemed anxious. He knew better than anyone what Sesshoumaru was truly capable of, and he feared Kagome's ability to stand up to him. But then again, if anyone could do it, it would have to be someone like his soon to be sister-in-law.
"Well then," Kagome replied in very tight tones, "he can just try and see how far he gets."
Mia got up and gathered the tea things. "Now, I think we've talked enough for the night. I'll clean up dears, so you three just do whatever you like."
"Not so fast, Mother!" Kagome cut in. "I have a few more questions, if you don't mind."
Mia sighed, she knew where this was going. "You want to know why I never told you before, don't you?"
"How astute." Kagome was trying not to be disrespectful, but she hated it when secrets involving her were kept from her, and this was one big secret.
Mia settle back down, took a deep breath, and began. "When I was pregnant with you I started having dreams. I dreamt of you as you are now, young and powerful. And then I started to have strange abilities. I could focus more, I was stronger, and suddenly I even had influence over the elements. At first I thought it was just my power, but then I sensed that the aura behind it was not mine. I asked your father what it all meant, and he spent two months buried in libraries, museums and archives researching the matter."
"But that still doesn't explain why you never told me," Kagome was nearly in tears again. "Did you think I wouldn't be responsible? That I couldn't handle it somehow?"
"No dearest, never," her mother assured her. "You have always been so lighthearted, and carefree. When you were a child I feared telling you would weigh you down, that it would be so large a burden that it would change your spirit."
"I have not been child for some years now. Why still wait? Especially after Stanton? Don't you think I deserved to know the reason behind it all? Don't you think that it might have helped me cope?"
Mia shook her head uncertainly. "I don't know. I knew when you were a teenager and making plans that telling you would make you feel duty bound to stay. I wanted you to have that experience. I wanted you to go abroad, see knew things, get a larger perspective."
"And after Stanton?"
Hanging her head in her hands Mia plead for her daughter to understand. "You were so crushed, so hurt, and so angry with yourself. I spent many nights in prayer and meditation seeking the right course of action. On the one hand I could see how adding more to your plate would be unwise, and on the other I saw how knowing your true self could potentially help you heal. But in the end, it came down to I could not shake the feeling that it was just not the right time. I felt as if Kami wanted you to have certain experiences first, as if there was a proper order to your life and you had not yet arrived at the point to learn of this. Besides, being a Gaean miko will extend your life. You may have centuries ahead of you full of responsibility, perhaps the heavens would not begrudge you a few more years of blind innocence."
"I'm immortal?" Kagome gasped. This was too much. She could handle finding out she had strange abilities. She could handle finding out the real reason behind Sesshoumaru's and Stanton's behavior. But immortality? It meant she could be with Shippou for longer, but what about her human family? What if she fell in love with a human? Was she supposed to find the love of her life and then spend centuries with nothing but his memory to keep her company?
"You are not immortal as of yet," her mother replied. "At least I do not think so, but I think the potential is there."
"Oh…" It was all Kagome could come up with.
"Now I really do think that is enough for you to learn in one night, and I myself am rather weary. Please Kagome, get some rest, and know that I acted how I felt was right, and out of nothing but love and concern." She brushed her daughter's hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, my darling."
"Goodnight," Kagome replied, embracing her briefly to show a return of affection before her mother walked into the kitchen with the tea things.
"I'll draw you a bath Kagome, you can use some of those bath salts I got the other day," Kikyou offered. "Perhaps a good hot soak will help you to relax before you sleep."
"Thanks," the younger sister said quietly as the other two women left. She was about to get up but found Inuyasha staring at her. "What?"
"Can I ask a question?" he inquired cautiously. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"I guess so, what do you want to know?"
He hesitated. "I mean, you've already gone through a lot of crap tonight so I'd understand if you didn't…"
"It's okay, just ask me."
"Who is Stanton?" Silence reigned for a few minutes, but eventually Kagome answered.
"He was my husband," she said. Inuyasha's mouth fell open and his eyes widened with shock. "He was my freshman statistics professor, and after six weeks of school he convinced me hat he loved me and to elope. I agreed, thinking how lucky I was to have an older, brilliant man fall for simple little me," she said with a hollow bitterness in her voice. "We found a judge who married us, but as he slipped the ring on my finger, I realized he had put a controlling curse upon it. My miko powers immediately flared, trying to fight it off. He just laughed, and told me how I was now his, and he would be the one to control my life and destiny. My body and mind were wracked with pain, and finally as I began to understand his intentions, and his betrayal of my love and innocence I became angry. I found the energy source that always surrounds me, tapped it, broke the bonds of the ring, and stopped the beating of the heart that had just broken mine. I found out he was a dark monk, one who had rebelled from the righteous ways and twisted into something evil. So, to remind myself never to be so naïve, never to let myself be trapped by the will of another again, I left this scar upon the finger that bore his traitorous ring. And now, when my aura senses one who seeks to control me, or if I feel threatened or confined, it burns to remind me of my mistake, so that it will never be repeated. Having freely given up my family name for that scum, I felt I was unworthy and could not reclaim it. Since I refused to keep his name I changed mine to Hando, trying to give myself one more way in which to make a fresh start." Her speech had been made while she stared at the floor, and as she finished Inuyasha could see a few tears drop from her face down onto the carpet below. She gulped, wondering how he would react to her stupidity. The last thing she expected was for him to draw her into a tight embrace.
"Do not worry, onee-chan. I will protect you, and I will not let anyone harm you like that again." He held her for a moment, feeling a few more tears hit his chest.
"Arigato, Inuyasha," she mumbled as she looked up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Um, can I ask a favor?"
"Sure, what?" he said, relieved that she had stopped crying. It always unnerved him when women cried. He could face hundreds of ravening youkai without flinching but stick a sobbing female in front of him and he was likely to faint from the strain.
"Can I touch your ears?" she asked, blinking big, now hazel, eyes at him.
"WHAT?" he yelled leaping back to the other side of the couch, placing his hands defensively in front of him.
"Oh c'mon, pleeeeease?" she whined. "They look so soft…"
When Kikyou came back down stairs she found her sister descending upon her fiancée, arms outstretched towards his cringing form. "Kagome!" she said firmly. "Not that I don't trust you but I would prefer that those ears go untouched by any besides myself!"
Kagome pouted. "Fine, be that way. I only wanted to rub them a bit." She said sheepishly as she rose from the couch and headed upstairs.
"She's not going to try that again is she?" Inuyasha asked, fear evident in his voice.
Kikyou stalked towards the man she loved, even more so than ever after seeing how he had treated Kagome tonight. "She won't," she said in a deep smooth voice, "but I will!" She crawled into his lap and began rubbing his ears till the sounds of his happy growls rumbling in his chest stopped her. "Thank you," she said.
"Keh!" he snorted. "It was nothing, I would have said anything to keep her from cr…" he got no further as she took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply.
Upstairs after getting out of her bath Kagome got dressed and reached for her phone. She needed to talk to someone, someone who knew both her and Sesshoumaru very well. Someone she felt sure would take her side, but still give good advice. She hit speed dial number four and waited for the other end to pick up. "Micah? It's me Kagome. Something's happened…"
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A/N: Happy now my hopefully joyously jubilant reviewers/readers? The mysteries of the story title, Kagome's last name, the ring scar, and the lack of distinction upon her armor have all been answered. Up next, chapter 12 which is entitled "Bad Dog, Very Bad Dog!" I also thought it'd be fun to put some spoilers in here as well and you guys can tell me if you like this idea or not. So without further ado, here they are...
-Secure from his utter confidence in his abilities he went back to sleep, sure that it would be a matter of days before Hando was right where he wanted her.-
-It was the final straw. Kagome had expected Sesshoumaru's interference, but this? This...was playing dirty.-
-"Erri? It's me Kags. How would you like to be served Taisho Sesshoumaru on a platter?"-