Blossoms in the Garden of the Moon
Chapter Three
Laughter echoes around the small osen and splashing can be heard as we bathe together. I stare across and catch the gaze of Kikyo before splashing water at her and then at Sango. "You are so childish!" Sango squeals with laughter before splashing me back as Kikyo does.
"Whatever you say…" I say sticking my tongue out before dipping my head under water. I can hear Kikyo laughing as well as Sango under the water before I pop up and then Kikyo and I look to Sango watching as she removes herself for the osen.
"I'm going back to camp to keep an eye on the boys so they don't fight again. You two be safe, alright?" We nod together and she stares at us for a moment before shaking her head and disappearing through the trees. Kikyo and I turn to each other and shrug at the same time.
"That was weird…" We say together before giggling and shaking out heads.
"Kagome, can I talk to you about something?" I look over from where I was playing with the water making it bubble. Her serious eyes turn my playful ones to match hers and I nod softly signaling her to talk. "I know that everyone wishes to kill Naraku but if there is any way…any chance that maybe…Onigumo was alive…or could be brought back to life…would you help me do it. Please…I am happy settling for Inuyasha but I truly…I love Onigumo with all of my heart and soul."
"Kikyo…I will help you because I understand your pain. You know where you belong and I accept that so I will indeed help you perhaps I can speak with Midoriko or we both could so that we may try and figure out what to do." Her eyes light up and she grins brightly looking far more energetic than I have ever seen. "First you and I have to go on a little adventure of our own to see a very annoying sword maker."
"Alright we can leave now if you wish and perhaps everyone can meet up in Sesshoumaru-sama's castle." I smile and Kikyo's face as we climb out of the osen and change quickly before walking back to camp. I gather my bags and smile at the raised eyebrows from the two brothers.
"Kikyo and I have a small trip to take in order to prepare for the final battle that is fast approaching however we must do so alone because in that time we are going to share our knowledge with each other so we are both at full power. Sesshoumaru-sama we ask you in the highest regard if we all could meet up at your castle within a month's time." Sesshoumaru's eyes find mine and he nods once but in his eyes I see a short burst of sadness showing that he will indeed miss my presence. I smile and bow to him as Kikyo does.
"Where are you two going exactly to train Lady Kagome?" Miroku asks and I shrug as Kikyo does and he smiles. My eyes find hers and we hold a silent conversation before we both shake our head in utter confusion.
"I take it you are both going to retrieve weapons so that Kikyo may train as you have and in doing so you will be receiving two blades as well. So to assure that they are strong enough I will gift you both with four fangs of a powerful breed of ice neko that were known to call on the power of shadows to fight. Totosai will most likely be your destination and on your way back toward the Western Palace you will be able to find and ancient grove that is lined with spiritual power. If you enter the grove leave your spiritual signatures on a tree that has ribbons twisted around the vines and move toward the back of the grove. Once there you will find a shallow pool of crystalline water supplied through small slits in the rocks of the mountain at the groves back train there and you will become more in tune with your spiritual energies." Sesshoumaru says with a short bow to us to bless us with the use of such a spiritual place in his lands. We return the action in thanks and hug everyone in the group except I don't hug Inuyasha and neither of us hug Sesshoumaru. We walk north of the clearing toward Sesshoumaru and ultimately Totosai's volcano and when I am beside Sesshoumaru I pause.
"We will return in time for the final battle. Upon our return to your palace your intended will arrive; figure out a plan and I will help you in any way possible in return for your information on our training grounds. For this information, however, I ask for your help in a situation that no others know about. We will then be perfectly even." His fingers brush mine and he nods his head once letting out a soft and barely audible grunt in acknowledgment to my words. A smooth sliver of his aura crawls up my arm nearly unnoticeable and wraps around the smooth lifeless bead hanging from my neck infusing it with his aura. The tip of his claw draws blood from the pad of my finger and a thin line runs across the cut moving to his finger. I seal the wound and mask the scent as he turns from everyone to lead west before flicking his tongue out inconspicuously and licking the blood from it.
"Safe travels my lady…" He murmurs just for my ears and I smile and walk into the darkened forest with Kikyo at my side. We walk for nearly half an hour before she clears her throat and I turn to stare at her. What I see in her eyes is knowledge and silent joy.
"You are enamored with the Lord of West are you not?" She murmurs and I feel my heart skip a beat. Before I can open my mouth to continue she speaks again shocking me with her vast knowledge of demon culture and how much she actually sees. "What you just did in the clearing…you both assured him of your return and trusted him enough with all of your being to allow him to draw your blood and relish its taste as well knowing full well that it will calm him until you meet again. You however took nothing in return to calm yourself."
"You see a lot more than I gave you credit for." I murmur looking forward again and thinking over my next statement. "I am…quite taken with him and he seems partial to me as well however the him I am taken with is much different than the man you know."
Kikyo gifts me with a glimpse at a knowing smile and bumps her hip into mine. "You are taken with the stoic man as well." I giggle like a little girl and nod softly. Her eyes find mine and once again I am struck again by our similarities. "We are quite a like it is true that Inuyasha was not too wrong in his observations through I am also told that you smell differently than I do. Inuyasha has told me that I smell of grass on a plane and trees whereas you smell of cherry blossoms with a hint of lilies and ginseng. Very different scents indeed."
"Kikyo when you met Onigumo was he truly human?" Her eyes dim only slightly because of her sadness before she takes a deep breath and answers me slowly.
"Onigumo was burnt all over but he was not fully human, he was indeed a half demon and when I help heal him little by little with my evolving healing abilities I was able to see his eyes and his face as well as his hair color. He was truly very lovely. His eyes were deep pools of jasmine and his hair was dark black nearly ebony when the fire hit it. His skin was very tan and silky. I remember the feel of his lips and I enjoyed that nearly as much as the feeling he created when he touched me. Everyone says he was a bandit but he was actually a warrior for a king and was burned in a fire while protecting a young prince from certain death. A dark witch cast a spell on him while he was protecting me and the sacred jewel and turned him into Naraku." Her eyes down cast and I reach over and link my fingers with hers and surge my energy into her to lessen her emotional pain.
"Do you miss him?" Her eyes lift and I'm given my answer simply by their bleak grey color. She misses him terribly. "If we keep walking we will reach the volcano by sunrise do you wish to stop or continue?"
"We shall continue and get there quickly so we may rest while the weapons are being made for us." Kikyo whispers smiling softly in my general direction before she closes her eyes briefly and begins humming a smooth tune. I catch the tune and hum along with her and as our voice raise into the night the life of creatures awaken and create a melody unlike any other I have ever heard. "I once heard a story that before the time of mikos and Midoriko there were demons that ruled the completely iced planes of an island not far from the coast of the West. They held a special kind of neko demons that Sesshoumaru gave us the fangs of. The ice neko and the people had a very powerful Lord named Yoshirou and his mate; Lady Megumi. They are said to have four daughters and a very young son. The demons of that place traveled only certain times and all of which were to meet with the Western Lands and their Rulers. These demons were mixes of ice nekos and shadow kitsunes all born from a very powerful Ice neko and shadow kitsune. The weirdest part of their powers was said to be strong spiritual powers gifted to them from the Kami when their ancestors split from the mainland and moved to their own island to create life."
"Do you believe that it's true?" Her eyes find mine and she nods softly before looking up to the night sky as it begin to lighten.
"I believe that if a place like that were to exist I wish I could go there and meet those people. If a place as peaceful as that were to still be in creation I would want all the people I care for to go there and be safe from the wrath of souls like Naraku and the witch that cursed Onigumo. When I was young and taking care of Kaede I wished that she could go there so that she would never again have to see death or pain. Her mother was the village priestess and her father was the head of the village. They found me as a young child a bit bruised and a bit bloodied from running through the forest with just and under kimono on and took me in." I look toward her and smile sweetly think back on when my mother told me I was originally from this time.
"I know what you are saying my mother told me nearly three years ago that I wasn't her kid. She said that the man who I call my father found me crying at the lip of the well wrapped in a very old and tatter blanket with the clothing of a feudal infant girl and a small chain with my name carved into it. They took me in as their own child and even preserved my blanket and clothing. My father figure moved overseas to work when I was younger and comes to visit sometimes but not often. Momma misses him sometimes but they make it work. Souta, my little brother, is an exact copy of my father." Her eyes find mine and she squeezes my hand softly before dropping it. We walk in relative silence for the rest of our journey both lost in our thoughts and trying to piece together as much as we can to help the other.
The volcano loomed over our heads as we linked hands and channeled our miko energy into a solid disk under our feet and forced it to lift us toward the mouth of Totosai's cave. We arrived and I could hear the sound of his hammer working away against metal. We step into the cave and his hammering stops as he turns to us sharply his eyes widening.
"It seems in my old age I have not seen it all two strong and powerful mikos that were once rivals for the affection of the young prince now stand together at the mouth of my cave. Come in and please sit I already have heard word of what you both desire from a servant of the Kami themselves. You may rest and eat while I finish." I look to Kikyo and we both mouth one name to each other…Midoriko.
"You are correct however Kagome here pins over a different prince of the West now and he seems quite taken with her as well. I must admit I've never seen him so playful as the night Inuyasha and I returned to camp after I was collecting herbs." She winks at me and I gasp not having realized that Kikyo walked into camp before Inuyasha. "Inu-kun had to relieve himself so I walked back to camp without him and saw Sesshoumaru-sama and you playing Kagome."
"So it seems that fate is very twisted indeed my dear mikos. I am not sure if your companions have noticed it but in the vicinity of the west there is a small group of people waiting to take out the one known as Naraku. I am informed of your trials and was told to infuse both of your weapons with the fangs of ice nekos that you carry with you." We hand him the fangs and he smiles and continues working as Kikyo and I eat the warm soup provided for us. After eating we both doze off as he polishes the blades and moves around collecting bundles and packages for us.
We awaken later that afternoon to Totosai banging against metal. Standing I help Kikyo up and we move to the two bundles lying at the entrance of the cave. I notice two sets of short swords lying against the wall. Both had deep ebony sheaths with icy blue snowflakes dancing across them as well as black hilts with light blue string tuffs hanging from them and a crystal snowflake hanging from the tuff of blue strings. I pick up one set and Kikyo pick up the other and we infuse them with our energy before handing each other one and switching so I have one of my own and one of Kikyo's.
"What have you placed in the packs Totosai-san?" Kikyo says bowing respectfully he opens the bundles easily to reveal a set of beautiful fans with black metal blades. On the fans is an icy plane under a blue night sky with a pitch black fox on one and a bright silver neko demon on the other each howling at the moon that is high in the sky. Settled in the other bundle is a set of pristine white throwing stars with a deep black paw and claws swiping on each one.
"I'm confused why must we carry these neither are our weapons of choice." I murmur and Totosai smirks and reseals the packs before handing them to us. His eyes are laughing at us but his smiles says that we will find out in time. I nod as Kikyo does and we bow to the aged sword maker.
"Goodbye Totosai-san…keep in good health please!" We say together before leaving the way we came. Once we land we head for the west searching for the place that Sesshoumaru spoke of.
"Kagome I feel as if there is something that we are being left out of…naturally if we shared a soul one of us would have died when I was brought back to life and neither of us did die so I have my own soul and you have your own. Aside from that we look so much alike, too alike to even be reincarnations. We also look like Midoriko but like younger versions. I also feel a very deep connection between you and I. You see like you see energy I see connections to people so I can tell that we are connected unlike normal humans or even demons. I can almost read your mind when we meet gazes or even when I actually watch what you are doing." I look to the sky and nods softly acknowledging that I have also felt that very same way lately. Everything that has been going on just hasn't added up right.
"I agree…lately everything hasn't been adding up right. Everyone says a human Onigumo gave over to demons when he heard of you and Inuyasha however you were quite clear that you loved each other and he was a half demon…also with all the thing Midoriko has told me she lead me to become closer to you and now I realize it was because of our look and the three of us look so much alike as you have pointed out. Aside from that the Kami told Totosai what kind of weapons to bring us and the time lapses between Midoriko, you, and I don't seem usual either. Midoriko died and nearly a hundred years later you were found in the woods bloody and a bit bruised then fifty years after that I was found at the bottom of the well with infant clothing from this period on and a chain with my name on it. Something just isn't right." She nods and we link hands building a link between the two of our minds to share our thoughts as we walk together trying to piece together our parts of the story.
We stop as we feel the overwhelming presence of spiritual power calling to us. The energy was woven into the very fabric of the earth even at the place in which Kikyo and I stand which is certainly not where the energy is emanating from. That is one center point and from here you can just make out the side of a mountain over the top of the trees. The energy pulses steadily in slow beats almost like a heart and it whispers softly in the wind and almost all elements in the forest. Kikyo and I look to each other and begin moving toward it with lightning fast speed. Our mind still connected by the linking of our joined hands. I could almost hear her thoughts echoing mine as our hearts synced in time with the steady thrum of power that grew steadily stronger as we grew closer to the grove Sesshoumaru had told us about. I knew and so did she that the grove was some place of importance that would help us get closer to piecing together the parts of a story that have been raging in our minds for days.