For as long as she could remember, Kagome had slept in a small hut at the edge of the village, close enough to the village so that she was sometimes woken by her neighbor's baby crying, but close enough to the forest so that she was lulled to sleep by the songs of crickets and owls. The wind had always been her lullaby, the singing of the leaves as they were brushed by the breeze a comforting hymn. There was always the crackling of the fire and Kaede's breathing. Kagome had never had any trouble getting to sleep.
As she lay in the ornate bed and stared at the ceiling, she was struck with how very silent the underground world was.
Dinner had been awkward, and Sango had offered to bring Kagome to her room as soon as she put her spoon down. Kagome had been too dazed to protest, and so she now lay on a futon of feathers, in a nemaki made of silk, and she had never felt more uncomfortable in her life. Letting out a small sigh, she turned onto her side and drew her legs up into her chest.
My father's a god.
The thought had sprung unbidden into her mind, and now she groaned and buried her head in the pillow. More importantly, that makes me a half-god...
Kaede had always said that one day she'd be more powerful than her mother, and Kagome had never believed her. Kikyo was a legend, a romantic figure whom people continued to speak reverently of. Kagome was... Kagome. Clumsy, short-tempered Kagome. She had never showed much promise, and she certainly didn't possess any godly qualities. She'd be inclined to not believe Inuyasha, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to. He'd seemed so surprised when she didn't know her father's identity, and the palace and the dog ears and...
I've had a long day, Kagome decided, rolling onto her back. I should get some sleep.
…
I really should get some sleep.
…
"Damn it!" Kagome said out loud, sitting up. She glared daggers at her door, as though it was to blame for her insomnia. Her glare, however, quickly turned into an expression of surprise when the door opened and Sango's voice sounded through the room "Kagome? You're still awake?"
"Y-yeah..." Kagome nodded awkwardly, fiddling with her blankets. Sango opened the door wider and leaned against the doorframe, worrying her lip, before approaching the bed. Kagome could see now, by the dim light from the hallway, that she held a small golden goblet. Sango smiled and held it out to her. "I figured you might have trouble getting to sleep, so I made you this..."
"Ah, thank you," Kagome took the goblet and, eyeing it, tried to sniff it discreetly as she could. Evidently her attempts were in vain, as Sango giggled. "Don't worry, it's just some chamomile, valerian, and some other herbs. Nothing poisonous to humans, promise."
Kagome gave her a small apologetic smile. "Sorry. I could tell it wasn't poisonous, though, after I smelled it. My aunt makes this for me all the time." She took a sip of the soothing tea. "It's good. Where'd you learn to make this?"
"Miroku taught me," Sango said, sitting lightly on the edge of the bed. "He was a monk, before..."
Before? Kagome wondered, but Sango didn't look to see the question in Kagome's eyes. "He has knowledge of a lot of herbs. He makes this for Inuyasha-sama sometimes."
"Inuyasha?" Kagome said disbelievingly. That stuck-up asshole? What could possibly keep him awake?
"Mm," Sango affirmed. She looked down at her lap. "I know you're not happy with Inuyasha-sama, and I'm not either, but please don't think he's a terrible person because of this."
"Of course I wouldn't. It's not like he stole me away from my home and family and proceeded to tell me that Naraku-sama of all people is my father, or anything like that," The words were out of Kagome's mouth before she think about them, but Sango only chuckled.
"He's tactless, as well as reckless," she agreed, and her smile slipped into a more serious expression. "Kagome-chan, I know you have a lot of questions, and Inuyasha-sama needs to explain himself. But believe me, what he said is true. I've known for years that Naraku had a daughter by a miko, and almost as soon as I met you I could tell that it was you."
Slightly taken aback by the distaste in Sango's voice when she spoke the great god's name, and by the lack of an honorific that followed it, Kagome's eyes widened. "Sango-chan..."
Sango gripped Kagome's hands in her own. "I don't know why Inuyasha-sama brought you here, but I'm sure that whatever it is, it's a good reason. Naraku is... he's dangerous. I know you've been raised to believe otherwise, but please, for your own safety, know that it's a blessing he hasn't come to find you yet."
Kagome's mind was reeling as Sango's brown eyes bore into her own blue ones. Naraku-sa... he's... dangerous...?
"Sango-chan... did he really kill my mother?"
Sango's eyes flickered, but she quickly composed her face and let go of Kagome's hands. "Inuyasha-sama will come talk to you in the morning. Sleep well, Kagome-chan."
Kagome watched her go, watched the light from the hallway disappear, and flopped back into bed. Staring at the ceiling, she could feel a tear trickle down her cheek.
She remembered how she had pictured her father when she was young; kind, tall, with short dark hair and smiling blue eyes like her own. A man who loved her and her mother more than anything else in the world. When she was very young, she liked to imagine that he'd return to the village someday, pick her up and spin her around and kiss her cheeks and apologize over and over again for having to leave her. Him, Kikyo, Kaede, and Kagome. A family.
She buried her face in her pillow and willed the tears to stop. Her dreams of a perfect family had been crushed years before. Her tears had already been shed.
She told herself that even as she cried herself to sleep.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys. And sorry this chapter is short too .;;;