Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to own the characters they all belong to Rumiko Takahashi, not me.
A Gap Across Time
XIII: Kikyou's Revival
Kikyou was surprised to feel so different after the transfiguration - her skin no longer felt cold and she didn't feel hollow inside like she did before. In order to make sure that her concoction worked, Tsume reached out for one of Kikyou's hands and slit a small cut onto Kikyou's open palm with a small knife - blood oozed out - just like she had expected. She smiled when Kikyou looked up at her with a small smile on her face.
"You wanted to be alive again that much?" she asked. She reached down inside a cabinet to fish out a cloth.
"I suppose." Kikyou took the cloth that Tsume offered her and wrapped her hand around it. "Is it that strange for you to accept such a request?"
"Not really."
"Well then, since we are done, I do hope you will gather all of your things and make haste to clear out this room." Tsume smiled at the priestess; she was contemplating on whether she would make a good ally or not. "I do feel a bit faint. It is in your best intentions and my wishes that I get some much needed rest."
"I understand. I'll leave as soon as possible because I'd hate to be a bother to such a beautiful bell flower such as you."
"Thank you. And please refrain from calling me a bell flower - Kikyou will be just fine."
By the time Tsume actually vacated her sleeping quarters Kikyou was already put to bed by the sparrow youkai beforehand. What Tsume sacrificed to make the priestess's desire come true came at a great cost to her, but it wasn't a problem because she was well provided for as long as she remained loyal. For anyone of her caliber, even among different breeds of sparrow youkai, she was forced to use one of her precious eggs to make the potency of the majority of her concoctions to work accordingly without fail. Such a risk of losing one of her eggs could result in death when it was removed from her body, yet, Tsume was not afraid to relinquish one of hers.
While she was walking down one of the hallways she ran into their substitute Lord, Inuyasha. They both stopped walking to look at each other squarely in the face - Inuyasha, with a curious look on his face, while Tsume, with a annoyed appearance. The hanyou saw her exiting out of Kikyou's room, and he could only wonder what she did inside there with all the bottled potions and such that she was carrying in a tray within her arms. He decided to ask the suddenly now perturbed bird youkai about it.
"What were you doing in Kikyou's sleeping quarter?" Inuyasha asked.
Tsume sopped short of getting near the hanyou, because the smell of citrus lemon instantaneously hit her nostrils. She raised hand to cover her nose. Inuyasha noticed the sudden recoil of the sparrow youkai, but he spoke nothing of it, because the smell was bothering him just as much as it was bothering her.
"That is none of your business. You'll find out soon enough when she awakens." Inuyasha glared at her at the sound of that. "Do not worry; I did not drug her with anything. I simply gave her what she wanted, and it has taken its toll on her so she needs to rest for a little while. I advise you do not disturb her because she's told me to barricade her door with a priestess charm she claims wards off anyone from entering; even me."
"Is that so . . ." Inuyasha didn't like the sound of that. Tsume made it sound like Kikyou was keeping something a secret from him.
"Excuse me. I must get back to the Minister of Affairs office. I am assuming you are still learning the wonders of herbal medicine and the effects of healing magic with Aizuna and Katari?" she asked.
"Yeah . . ."
"Stick to it - it's far from being over in lectures."
Geez, does news spread that damn fast? "Of course . . ."
"Ah, there you are Inuyasha!" Shippou came bounding over. "Come on! You've made Aizuna and Katari wait long enough for you already!"
"Shut up, Shippou!" Inuyasha growled. He was getting fed up with the annoying little fox youkai. "You don't need to remind me so damn much!"
"Then stop wasting time and let's get going!"
-----
"He's here, Aizuna!" The hedgehog youkai looked up from his slouched position. "Stand up straight!"
With Katari's commanding tone of voice, the hedgehog wasted no time in doing as he was told. Besides, if Inuyasha caught him slacking off, it would greatly degrade the over all appearance of the counselors within the support grouping. Both of the counselors stood ready and waiting for the hanyou to approach them - he looked none too happy to be back with them, but the requirements of being a Demon Lord never was an easy path.
"Welcome back, Lord Inuyasha . . ." the lemony scent hit Katari's nostrils immediately. He didn't know whether he should back away from Inuyasha, or stand his ground. ". . . Are you prepared for the rest of the lessons?" Inuyasha noticed the discomfort on the youkai's face, so he obligingly backed away himself to let Katari have some breathing room. "Oh, ah, thank you, Lord Inuyasha."
"Don't mention it," Inuyasha replied. Even he was bothered by the smell, but there was no helping it, since he was the one who reeked of it.
"I'll be leading you through the rest of the session, Lord Inuyasha, and if we manage to finish it by today, then you will be shifted over to Kikoku, the counselor of warfare, tomorrow morning."
"That sounds a lot better than this." Inuyasha yowled when Shippou stubbed him on his right foot. "Owww, you stupid runt!"
"Watch your mouth . . ." Shippou blushed when Aizuna and Katari looked at him. Geez . . . Inuyasha is such a pain . . .
"Well," Aizuna looked up at Inuyasha, "let's go to the infirmary within the palace. From there I can show you how things are run in there, and what procedures we go through before patching up a patient." Inuyasha and Shippou were lead through a maze of hallways and corridors before they reached their destination. Before them was a large wooden door that seemed to be very old. It even had a musty smell to it when Inuyasha sniffed the air, but it was not as overpowering as the citrus smell that coated his body from head to toe. "The infirmary is beyond this door, my Lord. The door does seem to be old with age, but the reason we did not tear it down for a newer one is because this door is quite special. Way before my time, and even Katari's, there were a great many counselors who marked this door; in other words, instruments of magic and incantations have been waxed across its surface, and it makes for great protection in times of need."
"It looks like an ordinary old door to me, though," Inuyasha commented. "You say there's magic and whatnot on it, but I don't sense anything."
"Precisely. The door will only react if destruction should ever come near it," Aizuna said.
Inuyasha snorted. Magical door, my ass.
"Regardless, let's go in," Katari interrupted.
Once inside Inuyasha and Shippou noticed that were mountains upon mountains of infirmary beds all lined up in a row of twos. What made it creepy was that everything was a pristine white, and there was no sound that the neither of them could detect - not even a mouse or bug scurrying about at all. The beds weren't their main concern, though, because they were led past them into another section of the infirmary that housed all the medications. Inuyasha quickly noticed that the area stunk of something he was not really familiar, too, and the smell here definitely overpowered the smell of the lemon scent on him.
"As you can see, we are at the storage area for the medicine and herbs. It's usually not empty at any time of the day, but since we are teaching you about this place the Minister of Support has asked all the counselors to evacuate for now until we were done. Here," Aizuna pointed to a low hard oak table, "is where most of the counselors place all the herbs and berries they've found when they're out traveling. Believe me, many new concoctions are made throughout the months, although some take longer than others to get brewed or grinded due to its density."
"What Aizuna is saying is that some herbs, roots, and berries are a lot tougher to work with than others. Depending on the nature of the plant, where it is grown, the thickness, dryness, moisture, and such, it can take the medicine a really long time to make or form," Katari explained. He noticed the confused expression on the hanyou's face, so he tool the liberty of breaking it down for him. Lord Sesshoumaru has a great range of vocabulary. Something as simple as this could not be understood by his little brother? "Do you understand now, my Lord?"
"Ye-yeah . . ." Inuyasha was angry that Katari was talking to him like he was some little kid. "So . . . Have we covered everything yet?"
"Of course not, Lord Inuyasha," Aizuna replied. Inuyasha sweat dropped - he had no idea that the Ministry of Support could go on and on like there was no sort of end in sight. "Next, I'll be letting you grace yourself in the presence of the many youkai who work under this division. I am sure that they are all eager to meet you up close in person. They have seen you upon your arrival, but it was from a distance."
"Remember to smile and act politely," Shippou said. Inuyasha punched him on the top of his head. "Ow!"
"That's payback for you stubbing my foot earlier."
Katari saw the entire exchange and he had to admit that the two made quite a pair when it came to disputes. Rough-housing was very uncommon among youkai of his own kind. When he was nothing more than a mere child, he was always taught along with the other children to not hit one another for the fun of it. That was not the way of the horse youkai, and it pertained to the many varying breeds of horse youkai throughout the land. He still clung closely to that belief and way of living, and have thus, never hit another youkai for petty reasons or spiteful revenge in his entire existence.
"Katari." Aizuna's eyebrows knitted together out of worry. "Katari."
"Yes?" The horse youkai suddenly looked up, almost bumping the front of his head with the tip of Aizuna's chin. His milky-white orbs seemed a little inkier in appearance, but the hedgehog youkai didn't think too much of it. "Is there something the matter?"
"No, nothing at all. Lord Inuyasha and Shippou have already gone on ahead, and I was wondering why you weren't following."
"I apologize for the hold-up. I'll be accompanying you now," Katari replied.
It seemed like he was so engrossed in his own thoughts about such a simple thing as hurting one another, that he totally forgot that their new Lord, his companion, and Aizuna were even with him. Then, just as if he was noticing the proximity of his and Aizuna's bodies for the first time, a light blush suddenly blanketed his entire face. In a rush to hide his embarrassment, Katari quickly turned the other way and tried to calm himself down.
"Katari?" Aizuna obviously noticed the blush.
I must calm down before this gets any worse. I mustn't let him realize just yet. Am I being too straightforward with my feelings?
"Katari, are you--"
"I'm fine, really." Katari realized he blurted this out before he even thought it over, but it seemed like the correct thing to say at the moment. At least to the horse youkai, anyway.
"You didn't let me finish. I was going to ask if you were all right with going through the rest of the session with Lord Inuyasha and I."
Katari could feel his cheeks heating up all the redder. He completely made a fool out of himself in front of Aizuna, yet he could only wonder if Aizuna interpreted it that way.
"Ah, yes, I am able to finish it."
Inuyasha and Shippou were already being ogled by the many female counselors that worked under the Ministry of Support, because by the time Aizuna and Katari made it to where they were, the two hapless youkai were surrounded. Inuyasha couldn't look any less comfortable than he already was, and Shippou wormed his way free by transforming into a medium-sized pink blob.
"Dammit, back the hell off!" Inuyasha shouted, when his touch-o-meter sky-rocketed past the roof of this palace. "Since when did I say it was all right to flock around me like love-sick animals?" All of the female counselors immediately backed away, while the male ones stepped forward ever so slightly.
"They were doing no such thing as that, Lord Inuyasha," Aizuna said. "Smell yourself for a minute."
"Why?" Inuyasha couldn't or rather he wouldn't bow to the whims of this bastard counselor. Yet, just as he ducked his head down ever so slowly for a sniff did he notice the scent of the citrus gone. "Hey . . . The lemony smell is . . ."
"Gone," one of the male counselors stated. "The counselors you were so ungraciously yelling at were simply applying some magical remedy on you to rid your body of that stench. However, in order for the magic to work, they had to touch you, but apparently, my Lord, you took their actions in the wrong way."
"Oh, so that was what it was . . ." Shippou didn't notice their true intentions, either. A purplish cloud of smoke surrounded his pink blobby body, before he was back to his normal self again. "Although it does make sense to ask only the female counselors to touch you, Inuyasha."
One of the female counselors went forward and bowed deeply. "I speak on behalf of us all. We are sorry to have angered you, my Lord."
"It was no big deal. Next time, just make sure to warn me first."
"Understood," she replied.
"Well, then, line up, everyone and announce yourselves properly to our new Lord," Aizuna commanded.
-----
Rin was pacing back and forth inside Lord Sesshoumaru's study, and it was driving Jaken insane that she was even allowed entry in the first place. He hobbled after her every step, as he barked out insistent commands for her to leave the study, but it seemed very likely that she was not going to budge from this room anytime soon. It wasn't only that they weren't allowed permission to be in here, but the parchments on the study table was bothering the toad demon a great deal. He still remembered what he caught a glimpse of what was on it. It was clearly by accident, yet now that he knew of that one word, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to different scenarios ever since.
"Rin, I shouldn't have to remind you that we aren't allowed entry when Lord Sesshoumaru is away!" Rin continued to pace back and forth. "Rin, are you even listening to me? Rin!"
"Be quite, Jaken. I'm trying to think."
After all his yelling and bullying, Rin finally took the time to silence him with a few words. A mere two simple sentences was all she needed, really. She was eager to meet their new Lord, which was Lord Sesshoumaru's younger sibling, but she was also well aware that Sesshoumaru wasn't here in the palace either. Nothing could keep her mind off the Demon Lord, and she was agonizingly realizing that she missed him more and more as the days drew on. Her faith was starting to relent, and somewhere deep within herself she feared that she'd never see Sesshoumaru ever again.
"Rin--"
"Jaken," Rin stopped pacing so she could face the toad fully, "Lord Sesshoumaru will come back, won't he? This room won't become desolate and cold one day, will it?"
"O-of course not! Lord Sesshoumaru will return!"
"Will he, really?"
"Yes, Rin."
"Really, really?"
"I'm not going to play that stupid game with you; especially not now. Let's get out of here before Surin spots you, understand?" Jaken tugged at one of the girl's small hands. "Come on, now."
"Maybe when I meet our new Lord he might have some idea as to where Lord Sesshoumaru is," Rin said to herself more than to Jaken.
Clinging onto that tiny glimmer of hope alone, Rin finally exited the room, much to Jaken's relief.
-----
Kikyou didn't know how long she had been sleeping, but from the beams of light coming through the window, she was sure that it was well beyond the morning hours. Upon further inspection, though, she then realized that it was really close to becoming evening time. Feeling quite refreshed and exhausted at the same time, Kikyou rose from the bed to stretch her aching limbs. Being alive was a wonderful thing, but she wasn't a foolish woman. Coming back from the dead usually had its consequences one way or another. The only question was: who suffered the most damage?
Tsume appeared to be unconcerned on her part. A youkai like her would have given up one of her precious eggs to perform such an act as raising the dead to become a part of the living realm. Losing an egg would affect her health greatly, yet why did she not ail like a bird youkai would? There is something very mysterious about her character.
Kikyou had the mind to leave her sleeping quarter; she was no longer dead, and the living usually got hungry after a certain amount of time. As a spirit she did eat, but not what a normal human being would have eaten, though. Whenever she got hungry or weak, her soul collectors would fly off somewhere to retrieve some spirits for her, so she never had to be at a certain place or time for her meals. Adjusting to the human realm of life was going to take some time getting used to again, since she had been dead for so long.
Her stomach growled, but she didn't want to go outside this room in fear of running into Inuyasha. She didn't want him to know just yet. Hunger wasn't something new to her, though, so she felt that she could wait it out a little while longer.
"Being alive . . ." Kikyou said to herself. She touched her hands to her either side of her cheeks. ". . . it is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Death may be always calling, but the will of living can conquer it. Human strength can go a long way - I have witnessed such willpower throughout the years. May I possess such traits to live a long life as a human."
Kikyou momentarily stilled when her bedroom door opened. She remembered telling Tsume to put up one of her barriers with a talisman, so how could anyone enter? The door did open, but no one entered immediately. Kikyou waited to see who the intruder was.
When no one was coming in, she stated, "who goes there? Show yourself."
A young girl appealed to her. "Oh, ah, I must have gotten the wrong room. I'm so sorry. I'll close this door right away."
Ah, a human child. Yes, that makes sense as to why she was able to get through my barrier unharmed. "You must be Lady Rin."
"You've heard of me?" Rin asked. She halted where she was by the doorway. Kikyou smiled and nodded. "You must be Lady Kikyou, then?" The priestess nodded once more. "Wow," the child's eyes lighted up considerably, "it's a great honor to meet you!"
"The pleasure is mine, as well."
"Surin told me that you weren't exactly human, but she didn't tell me what you really are, either. Yet, you look human right now."
"Yes, she was quite right about that," Kikyou replied. I was once dead, but am no more. "However, I am human now. Is that answer enough for you, Lady Rin?"
"Yup. You have a glowing face that sparkles with life. There's no mistaking it that you are human, and is very much alive."
To Be Continued!