After two and a half days of hiking, Kagome was exhausted. She hadn't been lying when she'd said she wasn't cut out for this lengthy nature walk. The first day had been bad, the second day torture, but the third day... Well that was what she liked to think hell would feel like. Each muscle in her body cried out from exhaustion, and the end was nowhere in sight. Though Sesshomaru assured her it was only a few hours more, her feet told her that a few hours could mean a figurative life or death. And with sore blisters and a sweaty back, the argument her feet were making suddenly sounded more logical than Sesshomaru's.
"I didn't sign up for this..." she grumbled, wincing with every step. Pain shot through her toes to her legs.
He frowned when he looked back to her, out of concern or distaste she wasn't sure, but he told her, "We will arrive in two more hours. Also, your shoes are not proper hiking boots, therefore it is only natural that they would give you blisters."
"Well doesn't that just solve this problem? Hold on a sec—let me just take my proper hiking shoes out of my back pack and wear them right now. And if you'd known they weren't appropriate, you should've told me," she snapped at him.
He didn't respond out of courtesy; it was obvious she wasn't feeling well and he wouldn't take heed to the comment. Though, if anyone else had talked to him like that, they wouldn't be around to tell the tale. It seemed funny that he'd let her get away with yelling at him when he'd killed so many others for the very same crime.
The clouds seemed to part to let the heavens shine on Midoriko village when, and hour later, they caught a glimpse of the secluded town. Kagome straightened her spine and stopped complaining— an act which Sesshomaru told her was sorely failing—in order to appear less affected by the strenuous hike out. With a quick spray of rose scented perfume, they walked into the town and pretended that they hadn't just spent two and a half days without using a flushing toilet or shower.
"Hello," a crooked old woman walked to them and noticeably sized them up. "You are Sesshomaru-sama and his miko companion."
"That is correct," Sesshomaru surveyed the woman's outer appearance. She had a black eye patch, a cane, and walked with a limp but also the unmistakable air of authority. She was their village elder, the high miko Kaede.
Kaede peered at him through a narrowed eye, barely glanced over Kagome and turned on her heel. She began to walk, and motioned for them to follow. "We were expecting you."
Sesshomaru followed quietly, apparently humble enough to follow behind the old woman, Kagome noted with a mental growl. She was not pleased at all. I certainly didn't come all the way out to kingdom come to be called Sesshomaru's miko companion. I mean, what am I, his side kick? Robin to his Batman? Tonto to his Lone Ranger? This is outrageous.
Kaede led them into a small hut on the edge of the town and motioned for them to take a seat on the mat. Sesshomaru sat gracefully, full of purpose and confidence. Kagome, though, sat down roughly and crossed her arms ungratefully, annoyed that they'd have to conduct a business meeting before she bathed. She'd spotted a clean hot spring just outside the village and was dying to wash the layer of grime that had accumulated off her body.
"I am the elder miko Kaede, and as you know, Sesshomaru-sama, though we do not exterminate youkai, we have never had a good relationship with your community. You must be desperate to seek our help."
He met the old woman's gaze with ease and flawless resolve. "You are correct in observing that we require your assistance, Kaede-san, however the Youkai are not desperate. We are merely search for someone, and we have reason to believe she may be in your town."
The old woman narrowed her eye again, and set a pot of tea to boil on the fire. "Outsiders do not normally come to our village, and we have not brought someone in for nearly thirty years. Who do you think we harbor?"
He shook his head smoothly, his silky hair rustling. "She is not wanted for a crime. She is a human we think could help us with a different mission."
Kagome's forehead puckered as she noticed Sesshomaru was being vague when he spoke about their search for Naraku. Wouldn't it be in his best interest to tell the mikos to watch out for the dangerous hanyou, too? If the mikos knew that Naraku was out there… then surely 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' right? The miko population could be a useful ally, Kagome thought with confused suspicion.
"We're searching for the shikon miko," she stated, and rubbed her lips together as both Kaede and Sesshomaru stilled. For a pregnant pause, the room was intensely quiet, and it seemed as though even the fire was not brazen enough to crackle.
"The shikon… miko?" Kaede's voice was whispered, and her squinted eye slid over to meet Kagome's as if she was first noticing the girl.
"Yes." Her heart beat out an unsteady rhythm in her chest, blood rushing loudly in her ears.
"Well," Kaede shifted and took the pot off the fire, "Can't help you there. She's been dead for five hundred years."
"We know, but—"
"No buts!" Kaede's voice was sharp, "she'd not alive anymore. You're looking in the wrong place, you little half-formed miko. You should be looking to the spirits, not me."
Sesshomaru watched Kagome fumble for something else to say. He was curious as to why she had spoken up, and he was fairly angry she hadn't let him conduct the meeting, but had decided to see this to the end. He wanted to see how Kagome would handle herself.
"She was reincarnated," Kagome said quickly, trying to regain Kaede's attention. She rose so she was kneeling on her knees. "We are looking for her. Can you help us?"
Kaede touched her head, as if it were hurting. "Out. Get out!"
Too far, I went too far, she scolded herself. She'd felt like she'd needed to prove herself—angry because of the sidekick comment, but also the angry feelings of being treated like less than worthy by the youkai in the meetings were haunting her mind. And in her heart, she'd wanted to be appreciated, as if somehow Kaede could instinctually know that she was the shikon miko, and she was deserving of taking care of the great power that came with the job. She just wanted to show that she could do something right.
Kagome moved towards the door, with Sesshomaru following in suit, watching her closely. She touched the door, and spared the old woman one last glance. All that work for nothing. I hiked out to the middle of nowhere for three damn days, and there's nothing Midorki village can help us with. Kagome felt utterly useless, and if she weren't wallowing in self-pity, then she probably would've felt irritated.
"Not you," Kaede's shrill voice sounded in the air. Kagome whipped her head around and saw the old woman pouring two cups of tea by the fire. "Him. I want the youkai gone."
Kagome exchanged a glance with Sesshomaru. He nodded and walked out the door with a simple, "I will find sleeping arrangements for us."
Once the door had been secured shut, Kagome walked back over to her seat by the fire and examined Kaede. The old miko took a few sips of the tea and then passed Kagome her own cup. Hesitantly, Kagome took a sip and waited.
"This is a matter for mikos only. Youkai should know better than to ask about miko business."
Kagome furrowed her brow. She certainly didn't want Sesshomaru to feel how she felt during the meetings with the youkai council. No one should have to feel like an outcast. "It's his business too, for the record."
"Hush now," Kaede put a log on the fire, "the shikon miko was our miko. She's our responsibility, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
Kagome didn't bother to protest the change in conversation. It wasn't like she was actually searching for information on the shikon miko. She had all the information on her than anyone else on the earth, primarily because she was said miko.
"What do you think you're doing, hanging around with that youkai?"
"The mikos and youkai have no feuds going on anymore, so I don't see why it's a problem—"
"That's not what I'm talking about, girl. What's your relationship with him?"
Keeping her gaze level, Kagome held no embarrassment when she announced, "We're married."
Kaede laughed and finished off her tea. "Married. From the way you look at each other, you've never even been intimate. That's an odd case these days, indeed."
Kagome stared into her drink and tried not to blush. "That's personal."
Kaede's laugh sounded more like cackling than a real laugh. "And from the sound of it, you're still a maiden."
"Again, none of your concern."
"Actually," Kaede was suddenly serious, "I do think it's my job to warn young girls like you. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"Yes, I really do—"
Kaede's eyes flashed. "Again, let me finish. You young things think you know what you're doing, but you have no idea. Youkai and humans were never supposed to mix. You could spend your life on this man, spend your best years with him, and he could leave you one day, without a care. An affair with you seems like a one night stand for him."
She paused, her eyes grim. "Their life spans are completely different from yours, and they aren't affected by emotions the same way humans are. I've seen it countless times…"
The old woman paused, "You must leave him before he takes your life away from you."
Kagome didn't want to talk about Sesshomaru anymore. Everything the old miko told her, she already knew. When we were married, we had decided that we wouldn't have a romantic relationship. I'm not entirely sure if the same rules apply now, but I knew and still know exactly what I'm getting myself into. When she had comforted herself by remembering that she knew more about her own life than Kaede did, she offered the woman a unsatisfactory response.
"I've already promised him my life," Kaede's eyes widened but Kagome continued smoothly, "So I don't have to worry about him taking it from me. I have my reasons why, and I'd appreciate it if you left it like that. Now, about the shikon miko…"
Kaede shrugged, her face suddenly seeming more wrinkled and tired. "She isn't from our village, if that's what you're asking. And don't talk about her, girl, because every time you say 'shikon miko' I get a head ache." Kagome wasn't sure if she was being serious, or just cranky, but the way the old woman was holding her head, suggested something really was happening every time she spoke about, well, herself.
Kaede met Kagome's eyes, and an old, tired wisdom seemed to glimmer in hers. Taking a breath, Kaede pursed her lips and continued. "I'm not sure about this reincarnation business, but if I had to guess, I'd say you were her."
All Characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
And for a P.S, sorry I didn't give Kaede an accent, but it didn't really make sense to give a woman living in a time period around the 21st century a 500 year old accent. Tell me what you think, and please enjoy. ~Gracie