Sesshomaru sighed in frustration. The group of friends-like-family sat around a fire in the middle of an unknown forest, sitting with withdrawn faces. They set out a month ago to finish the quest of gathering the shards of the shikon jewel, but they haven't had a drop of luck finding any. They came across many demons yes, but not one could Kikyo sense had a shard. It was frustrating as hell. Especially since everyone knew of Kagome's death. You would think they all would come out and not hide anymore. Which, most demons had, just not the ones they needed; the ones with the jewel shards. But there was always the possibility that Naraku had somehow gathered them all, but he shook that thought away. One of The few demon's left that had a shard, was Koga, and Koga would rather die then hand over his shards. And he knew he would bribe Kagome into something he wanted in exchange. But if Koga had to die for Naraku to get the jewel shards, then that was a worry. Naraku would without sparing a second glance, kill Koga. But Koga would come to Kagome first, if he felt that Naraku was after him, which he hadn't…. yet. So it was a good chance that Koga still had his. Then there was the slayer's brother, with a shard in his back. He knew Naraku wouldn't take that one until he killed the little slayer, and that probably won't be until the final battle, just to get to Sango. So, there were a few they could still get. Even the slayer's brother because he had Tensagia.
Suddenly he heard an exaggerated sigh that didn't come from him or from the others in the group. So he immediately knew it was Kagome. She had been traveling with them, and it seemed only he and the other miko could hear her. She talked to him at night when he would wonder off, thinking of her. One night, she had asked why Sesshomaru would put a barrier around her body. He told her it was a barrier to keep her body in tact, so it wouldn't be rotten and decomposed when he revived her.
When he closed his eyes to sleep she would be beside him with the kids. He stayed near them Because he knew Kagome wanted to be near them. She didn't have to ask, or tell him, because he knew. But he was brought out of his musing when she suddenly said louder then necessary, "Oh come on you guys! You make the dead look exciting, with an exception of one because she is dead!"
That earned a teasing glare from the miko, and a small smiled played at his lips. But thankfully, you had to watch him intently to see the change.
Inuyasha, seeing his mate glare at the air, asked, "What did she say?"
"She had said that we made the dead look exciting, except for me because I was already dead." Explained Kikyo.
Miffed, Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and looked in the opposite direction he saw Kikyo glare at.
"Don't blame us! It's not our fault it seems as thought there are no more jewel shards!"
Kagome sighed at her friend's usual behavior, yet loved it. She didn't want him to change, for anything.
"You're just not looking hard enough."
"But I don't sense any." Kikyo pipped up.
"Hmmm. Maybe because it's being connected to my soul, why I can sense those you can't?"
"Do you mean to tell me you've sense some? And you didn't tell us?" asked Sesshomaru, irked that she didn't mention it before. It could've helped you know.
"I wanted you guys to find them for yourselves." She replied in a sly voice.
"Wait," Inuyasha but in, "Are you saying Kagome sensed jewel shards?"
Sesshomaru gave him an even look. Of course the jewel shards, what else have they been so passionately hunting besides Naraku?
"Yes, brother, the jewel shards."
Inuyasha jumped up on impulse.
"Damn it Kagome! If you were physically here I'd…" he left the threat hanging, considering he wouldn't be able to do anything, except give her a hard glare. The damn wench!
"You'd what, half-breed?" Sesshomaru asked in a cold, threatening voice.
Inuyasha just crossed his arms again and sat down huffing.
Kagome floated beside Kikyo, shaking her head at Inuyasha's behavior. She knew he wouldn't do anything but chew her out, which she would have rolled around in the air laughing her spirit ass off. She couldn't help it. When Inuyasha was in a ranting mood, it was just cussing his head off, which she found oddly hilarious. But her thoughts shifted to the jewel shards. The nearest one that she could tell was about another two days walk, in the opposite direction they were traveling in. But it was also moving with them, like it Knew who they were, but were afraid. But she wasn't worried about it. She was worried about Kikyo. If Kikyo used to the jewel's protector, she should also have a bond to it like she did; be able to sense it far away, Because the jewel choose her for that binding job. But if she wasn't able to sense it, then she wasn't strong enough. And she had to be stronger. Stronger to find the jewel shards, to fight, and to defeat Naraku. She would be their only hope in defeating him in her place, because she was the only other one who could purify the jewel, whether Kikyo believe it herself or not. But how can she make her stronger without interrupting their search? Then an idea hit her.
She lowered her self down so if she were alive, she would be sitting next to the miko.
"Kikyo, what would you say to having the rest of your soul in your body?"
Kikyo's head snapped to the side and Sesshomaru sent a questioning glace to the side Kikyo was also looking at.
"Why do you mean?"
"I mean, let my spirit, soul, whatever, fuse with the rest of yours. I realized, and no offence, but since you couldn't sense the shard I can, I thought that you might not be strong enough. So, with the rest of your soul with you, you would gain extra strength, and some of mine. You are the only other one who has the power to purify the jewel for me, but you aren't strong enough. Of course, it would be like you have split personality and a double conscious, but it will help. Especially during the fight with Naraku. Plus with the extra strength and senses you'll have."
"Why would I have extra strength and senses? Wait, you mean like demon strength and senses?"
"Ah huh. And that's because when Sesshomaru and I mated, our souls bonded, which is why he can hear me and see me sometimes. So, that kind of changed my soul like my body. So, how about it?"
Kikyo glanced at Sesshomaru, to see what he thought about it, but as usual, he didn't portray anything.
"I don't like it. It will be..." He trailed off and sent Inuyasha a look. "Too awkward." He finally spoke up.
Kagome smirked. She could just imagine it. Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru biting each other heads off because one would get too close or, or hold them the wrong way. She shook her head at the thought and fought back the urge to laugh. This could be a very valuable lesson for the brother's.
"It will help you find the jewel shards and defeat Naraku faster, and the faster that goes, the faster you can have me back." She concluded. She knew they could not refuse that. She knew her new family wanted her back and as fast as possible.
Sango, Inuyasha, and Miroku were lost. Kikyo and Sesshomaru were talking about Kikyo somehow getting stronger. Kikyo would become a demon miko like Kagome? If so, will this help them with the hunt for the jewel shards and Naraku? But whatever it was, it had Sesshomaru and Kikyo really considering it. Finally, after a while Sesshomaru seemed to accept whatever it was and nodded a go ahead. And with that, Kikyo started to glow a bright, pure blue light.
After Sesshomaru said yes, Kagome glowed with the same blue light the other's saw, and Kikyo's fading light of the souls she took from the dead women, fussed together, and as soon as it happened, it was finished, and Kagome was now Kikyo's second conscious. And suddenly, a filling of completeness, and feeling whole overwhelmed Kikyo. The dead souls escaped her clay body, but she didn't weaken to the brink of death she usually felt when it happened. Instead, she felt Kagome's power fuse with hers, flow through her veins, and she felt a heartbeat. Something she hasn't felt in 50 odd years. She felt the blood rush though her, giving her a warm look she didn't have with her clay body. Kagome brought her back to life, completely and fully. The realization made her gasp and filled her eyes with tears. Inuyasha was at her side in a flash, along with Sesshomaru's warning glare. Kikyo wasn't only Kikyo anymore and the hanyou had better remember that.
Kikyo looked up at Inuyasha with the bewilderment still clear on her face, and the tears in her eyes spilled over and she was suddenly weeping, and flinging her self into Inuyasha's warm embrace. As soon as Inuyasha felt the warmth that had been missing for so long, he knew what Kagome had done.
Sesshomaru knew what Kagome did when he saw the warmth enter her face, when he could hear a heart beat in the miko's chest. He knew Kikyo needed this, and knew Kagome was just waiting for the storm to be over. So he would wait too. Once again, he was proud of his mate, and her kind hearted . He turned his attention to the other's that looked so lost.
"Kagome has combined her soul to the rest that is in the miko's body. This will increase her powers and be able to find the jewel shards and defeat Naraku faster, as she wasn't as strong before. And since Kagome is the miko's reincarnation, the fusion between them brought the miko back to life." He summed up in his emotionless voice. The other's nodded hesitantly, questions still in their eyes.
"So momma is with us again?" Asked shippo. Sesshomaru only nodded.
After Kikyo got over her emotional attack, she looked back up at Inuyasha. She gave a confused look when he took a sharp inhale of breath.
"What?" She asked, worried something was wrong.
Inuyasha only reached over for Kagome's back that they brought along. It took him a bit, but after he reached into one of the side pockets, he turned back toward Kikyo and gave her a small mirror Kagome always brought along.
What Kikyo saw made her eyes widen in surprise. Not only could she for herself see the strong resemblance between her and Kagome, but she had two different eyes colors. Her eyes used to be pale, cold brown eyes because her body was dead. But now, her right was a rich, chocolate, deep brown. Her left eye was a mix between a deep, blue, emerald green, and a rich violet. Her left eye showed she had Kagome in her, because that was the color of Kagome's eyes.
'I don't see what is so wrong. You always commented on my eyes.' Kagome's voice echoed across her mind's walls.
'So this is what you meant when you said a double conscious, or split personality, whatever that is?'
'Of course, and split personality is when you have more then one personality. Seriously, there are people with that. One minute they will be calm and talk like their in their right mind, and then you have someone who is violent and rash. Similar to bipolar disorder.'
'What is that?'
'When you have frequent mood swings, being irritable, and change your mind constantly.'
'Oh.'
They were shaken out of their conversation, quite literally, by Inuyasha, demanding to know what was going on.
"Kikyo, what the fuck is happening to you?"
"Kagome was talking to me." She said, as though it was something that they did every day. Well, technically they have, but not mentally.
"What?"
'Here, let me take over for a sec.'Kagome asked, waiting for Kikyo to comply.
It took only a second, and when she spoke, she spoke in her voice. The light and cheerful, Kagome voice.
"Since I am still my own person, whether or not we share the same soul, it still me, thus, making Kikyo have something like a double conscious."
Everyone turned their attention to her, completely stunned. Only Sesshomaru and Kikyo have been the ones to communicate with her. So to Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Rin, to suddenly hear her voice, was a wake up call. The first ones to come around were Shippo and Rin. They ran over with tears in their eyes and attacked her in bear hugs. Kagome laughed and hugged them back with just as much enthusiasm. It had been too long for her not to be able to hold her children, to kiss them, to talk to them, to comfort their pain at the loss of their mother. She knew that the other's told them that she was with them, though that still didn't seem to ease the pain. It hurt her too, and was grateful that Sesshomaru watched over them.
Kagome had tears in her and Kikyo's eyes, running her fingers though their hair, kissing their foreheads, mentally thanking Kikyo for this. Even if it wasn't her body, she was grateful none the less.
"Momma, how long are you going to stay in Kikyo's body?" Rin asked looking up at her, with tears of her own.
"Until I can purify the…." She trailed off. She hadn't thought of that before.
'Ha! The mighty Kagome hadn't thought of the greatest use of having this body!'
'Oh, and you have?'
'…. Not really.'
'So there.'
'You really are the only one who can purify it out of existence. But…'
'Already two steps ahead of ya. I do believe I will be able to. The thing you've wanted most has been granted. And with your purifying powers, and with me in dominance, I think it can happen.'
'I hate you, you know?'
'I know.' She said a bit too cheery.
"Oi!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Really, Inuyasha, I cannot discuss things with Kikyo?" she asked sarcastically.
"Not without telling us."
"Well, what if it is something private?"
Inuyasha sputtered, but nothing coherent came out of it.
Kagome smiled and stole a glance at Sesshomaru, viewing him with living eyes, and she couldn't get the image out of her head, well, their head. He Sat Father away from the fire then the rest, so the shadows played on his form dancing between the light and the dark. One leg was folded beneath the one that was bent up. One arm was resting on the knee, his fingers covering his mouth to keep from showing his amusement. The other rested in his lap. He was looking straight, which was in the forest, so no one could read the amusement and the light that had vanished, suddenly sparkle. But Kikyo's thoughts snapped her out of her daydream.
'Don't you dare!" Kagome shouted at Kikyo.
'What? It's not my fault you were daydreaming about him! And it is not my fault we share the same thoughts.'
'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…' Kagome said darkly.
She might be kindhearted, and selfless, but she had a powerful jealous streak.
"What?" Sesshomaru asked in a quiet voice. Depending on the look in their eyes, they were arguing about something, and with the way Kagome was staying at him, he had a pretty good idea about what.
"Nothing," they muttered, and he was surprised to find they said it in Kikyo's voice.
"We should get to bed," They said after awhile. "It's late, were tired, and I know you have questions, which we'll answer in the morning. Right now, get rest so we can fight whatever it is that is holding the jewel shard."
"So we have a destination in the morning?" Asked Sesshomaru.
Without looking at him, Kikyo's head nodded.
"It's about a two days walk in the opposite direction."
"You mean we have to go back!? But I thought you said you didn't sense any!" complained Inuyasha.
"I didn't because it stayed at a constant distance from us, exactly two days. It seems attracted to us, yet if we get too close it goes father away."
Kikyo marveled how much her senses grew when Kagome's spirit entered her body.She could now sense the shard Kagome spoke of, but she couldn't sense any demonic auras, except that of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's. Maybe that was what causing it to stay away. To curious to completely walk away, yet too afraid to come any closer. She did have to admit, they were powerful demons with powerful auras. Whatever, she would deal with it in the morning. They walked over to Kagome's bag and pulled out her sleeping bag. They noticed the strange looks they were getting.
"What?" Snapped Kagome's voice. She was still ill after Kikyo's thoughts about Sesshomaru.
"Nothing," They replied in union.
They sighed and opened the flap for the kids to sleep with her tonight. Everyone feel asleep, for one in weeks, to Kagome's voice, singing them all into the land of dreams.
(Whoo! Second chapter done. I hope this was a bit more cheerful, considering with all my stories about Kagome dying and everything...
Anywho, I hop you guys don't find this so confusing. With how Kikyo still has some of Kagome's soul, I thought that maybe I could combine them. And it also helps that she is Kikyo's reincarnation and all. And since Kagome's soul is Kikyo's soul, it should revive Kikyo fully... or it will in this story. I hope some of it discussed in the chapter is enough for you to understand, but in not, review it in and I will try to explain in one of my author notes... Until then, I shall get on chapter 3, and you enjoy this one!)