Ch. 5 Kagome's Turn
Fortunately for Miroku (and to Suki's consternation as her fun was ruined), the headman entered the room before the fur really began to fly. The poor man had heard none of the argument and when he walked in, his shock seemed to slam into him like a brick wall; he just stopped at the doorway, paralyzed by the scene before him: the Houshi backed into a corner, the hanyou, miko, and kitsune advancing upon him, the flat look of death on the taiji-ya's face. He would have run out but he was noticed too soon, so he hesitantly said what had brought him there in the first place.
"Houshi-sama, I, I, I came to ask if your search today had been successful. I saw you, along with several other villagers, leaving here at dawn this morning, so we all wondered when you returned without the youkai…" he trailed off, unable to complete the statement as everyone in the room turned to stare at him with frightening intensity.
"Say that again." The order came from the hanyou of all people, but the headman decided to comply anyway.
"I, I well, I saw Houshi-sama leaving early this morning and I wanted to know if he had been successful in his search…"
"How early?" the hanyou commanded again.
"It couldn't have been but moments after the sun rose-" he started, but Inuyasha cut him off.
"When did he return?"
"About sundown." The headman gave up on his normal pompous explanations in the hopes of a quick escape. He felt like an unlucky rabbit, trapped, with all the hunters' arrows trained on him.
"Are you absolutely sure that he didn't return to leave again at any other time during the day?" It was Sango's turn to interrogate the poor man. He almost preferred the hanyou; at least his voice had sounded human.
"Well, yes, I was here all day dealing-" he was cut off yet again.
"Will you swear to that?"
"Do you doubt my word?!" now he was offended, and his pride overruled his common sense, but before Inuyasha and Sango could rip him to bits in frustration, Miroku stepped in.
"Do not be offended; it is my word they doubt, not yours. I believe, however, that they will finally trust me now," he paused to look hopefully at his friend's faces. Sango's didn't move an inch, but Inuyasha grunted an assent and the ever-forgiving Kagome seemed almost convinced of his innocence, if still a bit confused. "I believe that you can go now. Thank you."
Finally released, the headman staggered out, half-surprised that he had made it out alive at all, half-amused at the whole situation in general. It was so absurd, the leader of a group being doubted by his fellows, and he couldn't help but laugh in relief that it was the Houshi getting grilled rather than him. He didn't even realize that he had never received an answer to his question.
"So…" Sango began, finally facing the Houshi.
"You do finally believe me, don't you?" Miroku asked, a note of desperation making his voice crack, all self-assurance gone with the exit of the headman.
Sango sighed, and turned to Inuyasha and Kagome, gesturing for them to join her outside. Miroku waited within, his heart beating painfully somewhere around his Adam's apple. All he could do now was to wait and pray that they finally believed him.
"Do we believe him?" Sango asked hesitantly.
"I don't know…It still doesn't explain what the hell happened yesterday…"Inuyasha started slowly.
"Well, if the youkai was able to imitate him so well today, why not yesterday? Maybe he was telling the truth about that too." Kagome pointed out.
"But why would the youkai do such a thing? And how on earth could it have known how to imitate Houshi-sama so well?" Sango asked, still unbelieving.
The discussion went back and forth, (Sango and Inuyasha still hesitant to forgive him, Kagome defending the monk) until finally a compromise was reached. They decided to give Miroku a chance to prove his story, but refused to admit that he was right straight out. They would all go in search of the youkai the next day, and when they found her they would force the truth out of her. Miroku agreed quickly to the proposal, grateful he'd been afforded even this chance. They all went to bed that night with a sense of hope. It was a pity that Suki had different plans…
Inuyasha woke the next morning to the faint sound of retching coming from outside. Still groggy as he sat up, it took him a full minute to realize what was going on; to notice the member of their group that was absent. He shed all vestiges of sleep instantly when he finally put two and two together, rushing outside, eyes widened in worry. He found Kagome easily; the acrid smell of her last meal led him straight to her. She was just wiping her mouth, her expression full of disgust, when she turned around and saw him.
"Oi, Kagome, what's wrong?" He asked, slightly panicked. She had seemed fine only the night before- what was going on?
She laughed, or at least tried to. Her throat was too damaged to manage her normal lovely chuckle, and it pained him to hear the hoarse, rough sound that emerged instead.
"I'm sick Inuyasha. I'll be fine soon enough, there's no reason to worry." She finally said, after her coughs had subsided.
"Keh. I wasn't worried." He denied, looking away to hide his blush. "But we can't go searching for the youkai if you're sick." He added lamely, trying to change the conversation.
"Of course you can. I'm not so sick that I can't take care of myself for the day. You all go without me, I'll be fine." She chose to ignore his denial, having learned from experience that pushing him to admit his real thoughts only led to arguments.
"What?! Don't be ridiculous; do you really think I couldn't hear you puking just now?!" He asked, incredulous, his embarrassment forgotten for the moment. "Do you really expect me to leave you here all alone and ill?!" He blushed again; he hadn't meant to say me, he had meant to say us, but if he tried to change it now it would just draw more attention to his slip.
Kagome only sighed. She could tell that he was going to be difficult about this. Fortunately for her, help arrived shortly. Before she could think of a good reply, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had entered the clearing, drawn by the noise. Even Kirara looked a little perplexed as she glanced between the two.
"What's going on here?" Sango was the first to ask.
"Kagome's very sick, so we can't go looking for the youkai today." Inuyasha said quickly.
"Really? Oh, I'm so sorry Kagome-chan. We can wait to go when you feel better, don't worry about it." Sango responded, not noticing Kagome's angry expression. Inuyasha's smug smile only served to infuriate the miko further.
"I am not that sick!" Kagome yelled. "There's no reason that you all can't go without me- or do you really think I'm so weak and helpless that I can't take care of myself for even a few hours?" She glared at Inuyasha, daring him to answer, her pride stung.
"Well, if you're sure…." Sango began, trying to prevent further arguments.
"You don't get it, do you?! YOU WERE THROWING UP. This has nothing to do with you being wea-!" Inuyasha began his tirade, only to be cut off by Miroku.
"Inuyasha, if Kagome-sama says she'll be fine, you should respect that and leave her alone." He said sternly.
Kagome turned to him, a little surprised, but grateful all the same. "Thank you Miroku. I'm glad that you don't think I'm a weak little ningen."
Inuyasha had no answer to that. Shippo and Miroku couldn't help but cringe, waiting for the imminent explosion. Only Sango was brave enough to speak up.
"Inuyasha, maybe we should just go and get that youkai now. Kagome-chan obviously doesn't want us to stay with her, and we shouldn't waste any more time in this village than we have to. Or have you forgotten about finding Naraku?"
That got him, and he turned away from Kagome, still furious, but unwilling to spend any more unnecessary time arguing.
Suki, hiding in a nearby tree, sighed with relief. For a few moments there she'd been seriously worried that the baka hanyou would ruin all of her plans. It had never occurred to the kitsune that the hanyou would put off getting revenge on her for his humiliating experience the day before for a mildly ailing ningen, no matter how possessive he might be of her. Apparently his care for her was more than that. And she had foolishly thought making the miko sick a perfect tactic to get her alone! But it's ok now, she reminded herself, finally relaxing. They'll all leave, hanyou included, and I'll have the girl all to myself. Thank goodness the monk and taiji-ya wanted to get revenge like normal people. She clapped her hands in excitement, barely able to endure the time it took them to leave. This prank would go off without a hitch, and while they knew it was her behind them finally, they would never, ever, catch her.
Swiftly Inuyasha leapt through the trees, Miroku and Sango just far enough behind to know where he was but unable to see his expression. He was leading them towards the very faint youki in the forest, although his thoughts were far away from the task at hand. He barely noticed as the odd branch caught him slightly, or the leaves occasionally catching in his hair. His face was contorted, his eyebrows stiffly bent, his eyes distant, his mouth a gash across his face as a low growl emerged from his throat. He wasn't angry any longer. He was worried.
He had seen Kagome sick before, and had helped her through it a time or two. Heck, the first time he'd met her that centipede youkai had injured her, managing to gouge out the Shikon no Tama from her body. Then why was he so goddamn worried now?!
A little thought at the back of his mind said he'd not known her the first time. It said that he'd been worried before too. It said that he'd never seen her so ill before. It said that he was scared for her. But there was more to it than that. The little voice could not explain everything.
He might admit in the depths of his own thoughts that he'd been worried before, but that didn't answer his questions at all, because those times were nothing to the fears wracking his soul now. Before this he had known from her scent, from her voice, from her appearance, that she would be ok in the end. He'd even sensed the illness as it had crept upon her, knowing before she did a few times. It was the illness she had this time that scared him. He hadn't known it was coming at all, or even been able to smell it that morning, and that was what scared him. He kept trying to recall from the day before any time she had seemed anything less than in the prim of health, and failed. The closest he got was the time she had been upset, crying even, and the bastard brat hadn't let him go to her. Could that have been why she was throwing up this morning? No, it didn't make sense. But neither did her acting sick when she didn't smell sick, and so his worries continued to twist themselves in his mind.
Gradually the fear that he was losing his touch set in. If he couldn't smell the difference between sick and well, what was to say that he would next know the difference between ningen and youkai? And if he couldn't smell properly or sense anything else properly, what good was he as a protector? He had wanted to stay with her to dampen some of the guilt he felt at not being able to sense her illness, to show her that he could at least keep her safe from youkai if not from disease. But she had turned him away, and so here he was, searching for the damned youkai that was probably at this moment stalking Kagome down in his absence.
If he had known how right his instincts were, he probably would have howled in frustration, for Suki at that moment was just making her move.
Kagome looked up in surprise as Sango walked into the room where she'd been resting. It was only just past lunch time and they had agreed to hunt until sundown. Something had obviously happened, and whatever it was seemed to have upset the taiji-ya greatly; Kagome couldn't help but notice the way Sango failed to meet her eyes, looking down instead before slumping against the far wall. Kagome got up slowly, worry creasing her brows, before hesitantly going up to her friend.
"Sango-chan, is everything alright? You look upset."
"You would be two if the man you were in love with declared his love for another," was her flat response.
"Again?! Oh, Sango-chan, I'm so sorry for you…"
"You should be you traitor! The way you told us what had happened, you made it seem like it was just another perverted trick!" Sango exploded, finally meeting Kagome's eyes, but with hatred and jealousy that left Kagome reeling.
"W-what?" was all she could utter in response.
"You heard me. I suppose you're pleased with yourself, finally getting him to fall for you along with all the others." Sango looked away again, as if disgusted by Kagome's mere presence.
"Sango-chan, what are you talking about?" Kagome asked, worry and fear and confusion all melted into the one question.
"You always do act the innocent, don't you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. A pure miko like you could never do anything wrong."
Sango's words cut her like a knife, as an inkling of an idea came to Kagome as to what she was talking about.
"This is about what Miroku-sama said two days ago isn't it? He was lying about being impersonated, wasn't he?" Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes as she watched for the other girl's reaction.
"Now you finally have the decency to admit something. Of course he was lying, he felt guilty we'd heard his confession to you and wanted to cover it up. He cracked like an egg when Inuyasha couldn't find the slightest bit of youki in the entire forest after a couple hours of searching. Apparently there'd never been a demon in the village to begin with, he'd just thought that the time had come to tell you how he felt and didn't know any other way to get you alone with him." Sango said it all bitterly, still turned away from Kagome. Her voice dropped suddenly, and with a venomous hiss she whispered: "To think I comforted you when you were worried about Inuyasha yesterday. To think I said you were like my sister…"
"Sango-chan…Please forgive me? I never meant for any of this to happen at all! You have to understand, I had no idea how he felt, I never tried to make him feel that way, I, I,…" Kagome stumbled desperately for the right words to explain her remorse. "I never meant to steal him from you!" She wailed finally, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Then why did you get yourself sick this morning? I know a guilty conscience when I see one. Stop trying to fool yourself- you did this of your own free will, just like you did it to all the others. You knew you couldn't have them without losing your miko abilities, so you didn't want anyone else to have them either!" Sango accused, irrational, incensed, about to break down then and there.
"What on earth are you saying Sango-chan?" Kagome asked, confused and scared by her words.
"That I'm through dealing with you, you, you man-stealer! Our friendship, or whatever it was we had between us- I'm not even sure of that anymore!- is over, miko-sama!" And with that, Sango stalked away, leaving a very confused and very hurt Kagome in the wake of her fury.
"Sango-chan…." Kagome said softly. It was all she could manage for a long time.
Inuyasha and co. came back a bit earlier than sundown, to Suki's consternation. She had just left Kagome's side, crowing with triumph, and had yet to rid herself of the taiji-ya's form when they came into the courtyard. She was so distracted with her victory that she hadn't even noticed their scents as they approached, and for one long minute she just stood there, staring at them, frozen just as much as they were. Then the minute was up and the chase was on.
Inuyasha immediately memorized the scent of the fake Sango in front of him as he leapt for her, but he missed. She was definitely an agile youkai, managing to evade the Hiraikotsu, Miroku's shakujo, and Inuyasha's claws even as she escaped the courtyard for the forest behind it. However, she knew that even she only had a matter of time before they caught her in this form, so she changed it as soon as she made it to the slightest bit of tree cover. She was just in time too, as Inuyasha lunged for the space she had filled seconds before. A commonplace field mouse, he didn't notice the transformation until it was too late.
The bastard youkai had gotten away. Again.
All three pursuers swore vehemently as they gave up the hunt. After a day of fruitless searching, they had let their quarry escape them in a matter of moments. But there was nothing for it but to rest and try again the next day, so they trudged to their rooms for dinner and sleep, brooding.
It wasn't until they had entered and saw Kagome curled up against the wall that they were awakened from their own bitterness at their defeat. Guilt swamped them all, wondering what evils the youkai had managed this time. Hesitantly Sango stepped forward; if the demon had assumed her form then Kagome-chan would probably be easiest reassured by her that none of it had happened in the first place. She hoped.
"Kagome-chan, what happened?" Sango asked softly.
Kagome gulped at hearing the voice. She didn't process the words; all that mattered to her was the thought that maybe she hadn't lost her friend, her sister, maybe she was being given a second chance. So she flung herself into Sango, sobbing apology after apology into her shoulder, desperate to be forgiven.
"I'm so sorry Sango-chan! I never meant to steal Miroku-sama from you, or to lie, or to steal the rest! I never meant for any of this to happen! I can't stand not being your friend, p-please forgive me!"
Sango turned a bright shade of magenta to match the line above her eyes at Kagome's words. She hurried to comfort the girl before she embarrassed her further, saying what she had about Houshi-sama.
"Kagome-chan, of course you're my friend…I guess you should know we just saw the youkai in my form outside before we came in. What evils did she put into your poor mind?"
"The, the youkai? In y-your form? Outside just now?" Kagome stammered.
"We tried to catch her but the damn thing got away again." Inuyasha grunted, ashamed of himself. First he couldn't tell she was sick, then he couldn't take care of her, now he couldn't even catch the goddamn youkai that had started the whole mess.
"Oh." Kagome said softly, looking very surprised. Then relief swept across her face and she turned to Sango to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "So…you really don't hate me?"
"Of course not. What on earth did that creature say to make you think that?" Sango reassured her, still curious.
"Oh, it was stupid. Just that you were mad at me for stealing Miroku-sama and you couldn't be my friend anymore. You-, I mean, she, said that there had never been a youkai to begin with and that Miroku-sama had made the whole thing up. She said my throwing up this morning was a sign of a guilty conscience, and some other things I didn't really understand." Kagome didn't want to bring up the part about stealing other men's hearts. It had hurt too much, and still did despite the fact that she now knew it to be a lie, for her to mention that as well.
"She said that to you?! In my form?!" Sango gasped, anger coursing through her. She wasn't the only one; Inuyasha had also stiffened at Kagome's words, cracking his knuckles unconsciously, and Miroku's expression had darkened as well. Even Shippo seemed distraught, and that confused Suki (observing as always) to no end.
She convinced herself that he was simply upset that she had been discovered, not daring to examine her twisted logic for fear that it might crumple, meaning that he might hate her. And that was a thought she could not bear. So she continued with her delusion, getting ready for her prank the next day even as that day's prank dissolved before her unseeing eyes. It didn't matter too much to her, however. Kagome had been hurt, and while she might realize now that they had all been lies, the memory of Sango/Suki's words would remain with her a while yet. The sadistic thought brought warmth to Suki's heart, the kind she only got when she felt she had completed her task despite all the obstacles in her way. There was only one member of the group left for her to take her revenge on now, and then she could reveal herself to Shippo with pride. She smiled happily at the thought. The poor thing had deluded herself beyond belief, not even noticing Shippo's angry tears at the state Kagome was in.
It didn't take long for Kagome to let out most of the rest of what the demon had said to her, and as a result Miroku could finally feel something other than daggers from Sango as the demon's existence was so irrevocably proven. Trust him to push his luck, however…
"Hentai!" Sango slapped his cheek hard. "Just because I believe you were impersonated and am willing to talk to you again does not mean I want you to touch me!"
"You never do learn, do you?" Inuyasha asked him, bemused, finally distracted from his own desire to avenge Kagome.
"Oh, don't be such a hypocrite. If you tried it once I doubt you'd be able to stop…" Miroku said lightly, easily dodging the fist Inuyasha swung his way.
Kagome couldn't help but laugh at their antics. Things were back to normal finally; she trusted her friends to find the youkai in the morning. Besides, with them all so aware of it now, how could it possibly trick them again?
How very wrong she was…
A/N: OMG what did you think of it? This was the hardest chapter by far, (although thank you so much kougaismine4eva89 for the idea, it worked wonderfully) so I'm really curious to find out what you think of it! Any questions or concerns, please ask I'm very willing to answer. I also tried to be more concise and not baby you all through every little change of emotion any of the character's might have. I feel better about the length of this one than my last one, I hope you do the same. I should update again next week with Sango's prank, the last of them!
You know the drill: Review please!