Hope and Choice

by XxSayuyaxX

The universe is all about balance. Good and Evil. The Eternal Struggle. It is said that the Shikon no Tama needs a pure wish to be destroyed and that requires a good, pure person. So when Naraku is defeated and the Jewel gone, that leaves a lot of extra purity in the world... and there must be balance. (Rated for language)

9. Chapter 9 - Yep! Everything Works

She felt it as the Jewel slowly vanished. It disintegrated in her hands but that wasn't what she truly felt. It was her soul, her heart, her blood, her mind, her entire being that felt it. Not only was the Jewel disappearing, but it was... leaving a mark on her. She couldn't explain it but she felt it with every fiber of her being: she was shifting, changing.

It was the oddest sensation. There was no real, physical change that she could see or feel but it was there; it was impossible to describe or explain. Her attention shifted from her momentary confusion to the very last of the Jewel's form finally fading from the palms of her hands. She couldn't believe it was finally gone.

Again, her attention shifted. She looked at her hands and again she had the strangest feeling of being different. Staring at her hands, she couldn't define any real change. There were no marks, cuts or bruises on her palms and when she flipped them over, there was again nothing out of the ordinary. Looking down at herself, she took stock.

Yep, both legs are still attached and in working order. Uh huh, arms, hands and fingers all in one piece and moving. Clothing... well, it was there- what was left of it anyway. She had started her battle with Naraku in durable but old clothes, knowing that whatever she wore would be ruined by the time everything was over. She was right: her jeans were muddied, bloodied, and torn to shreds and her denim jacket and shirt had fared no better. In fact, there wasn't much left of the jacket except the tattered sleeves with a thin strip connecting the two that she could feel stretching across her back.

Noticing the actual discomfort that the remains of the denim jacket caused, she shrugged her shoulders and it dropped off on it's own from there. At least her shirt was still, for the most part, in one piece. It was full of holes and whatever material was left was splattered, smeared, and spotted with blood and mud. Groaning with forced acceptance of her clothes unfortunate and untimely demise, she finally looked around her.

"Huh?" came her muttered confusion. "Midoriko?"