Summary
She gets the shock of her life when she meets a few other people she knew. Sango attempts to reign in Kagome's fight or flight instinct.
A/N: To everyone I have just undoubtedly confused the hell out of, I am so sorry! So, I first want to tell you guys that I have to repost a couple of chapters in order to get this one in because, dummy me, I forgot it! Second, I know you guys are gonna be thrown for a loop in this One-Shot, but where would the fun be if I kept things predictable? Now, onward!
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Kagome sighed quietly as she glanced out the window in the training room before quickly focusing her attention back on the session going on around her. Renji had called a halt and was explaining a few military tactics to the squad, and the priestess thought it would be better if she paid attention. Otherwise, the redhead might just-
"Higurashi! Since you seem to know what we're all discussing, why don't you come up here and be part of the demonstration," the Lieutenant ordered, a slight smirk crossing his face.
-call on her. Damn it!
'Caught. I hate being picked on,' the former time traveler thought, grumbling under her breath as she rose to her feet.
"I certainly hope that's not complaining, Higurashi," Renji drawled, the smirk becoming a viscious grin, "Now, hurry up!"
"Yes sir!" Kagome automatically snapped out, scrambling to the front and taking a stance across from him, her shinai ready and waiting. That arrogant grin only widened further as he turned to face the rest of the group.
"Now, let me show you three different ways that her stance isn't going to hold up," the Lieutenant explained, gripping his wooden sword tightly for a moment before flickering a glance at their stoic Captain. He was being unusually quiet today. Either he had something on his mind and wasn't paying much attention, or he was deliberately allowing Renji to bully Kagome just a little.
'With him, I really don't know what to expect,' the redhead thought, shrugging inwardly before continuing the exercise.
"First!" He swiped his blade at Kagome, causing the small woman to flip her shinai and block. The jarring impact went up her arms and she stumbled just slightly. "Her stance itself isn't wide enough. It makes it easier to throw her off balance." Kagome grit her teeth and glared angrily at the redhead. Some of her fellow squad members smirked.
"Next!" With another motion, Renji was bearing down on her with a strike that drove her nearly to her knees. "Because that throws her off balance, it makes it simple to bear a little weight down and send her to the floor." Okay, now she was getting pissed. She hated being made a fool! Several more people snickered in amusement.
"Finally!" Renji turned and started to swing out again, but Kagome ducked down so that his blade passed just over her head. He blinked, flabbergasted for a second, and the priestess used the opportunity to rise up sharply and roundhouse kick the taller man across the room. The Lieutenant went flying and crashed into the opposite wall.
Everyone was dead silent. Byakuya stared at her with muted surprise before he inwardly laughed. Despite the earlier misgivings about letting the Lieutenant spar with the girl, Renji should have known better than to piss her off. They'd all been warned by Miroku, after all.
'I'm impressed,' the noble thought, restraining the urge to smirk as Renji sat up and rubbed the side of his head.
"Oww..."
"Lieutenant! I'm so sorry!" Kagome babbled, scrabbling over to the redhead as several of her squad members burst into laughter. This time, though, she could tell it wasn't directed at her. "I didn't give you a concussion, did I?"
"Don't apologize, damn it!" Renji hollered, his face starting to redden in embarrassment, "That's exactly what you're supposed to do, Higurashi!"
"But, I didn't mean-!"
"If you moved like that more often, you wouldn't have to be in self defense training!" the Lieutenant ground out, getting to his feet and waving off the small woman, "Damn, why the hell don't you hit like that more often?"
"I... I don't know! I don't like violence?" the priestess spat out, flustered beyond belief. After a few minutes, everyone calmed down and a few of the other members of the squad even congratulated her on getting such a good hit in.
"So... Don't underestimate your opponents," Renji summarized awkwardly, patting Kagome on the shoulder. The former school girl sighed and gazed up at him with a hopeful expression.
"Does this mean I can go sit back down?"
The redhead gave her an evil grin. "Hell no! We're just getting started! When I'm through with you, you're going to be moving like that automatically. I want you to be able to do stuff like that in your sleep."
Kagome groaned loudly.
'This... is going to suck.'
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Sango stared at her before snickering behind her hand. Kagome glared before she just sighed and slumped into the table. Yesterday's training session had been hell. True to his word, Renji had made her box at him with a shinai until she couldn't lift her arms anymore. At one point, she'd hoped that her Captain would call him off, but the Kuchiki head had merely reinforced the idea.
By going up against her a few times himself. It had been a rather humiliating experience.
"I ache in places I never thought I could ache," the priestess groaned, laying her head on the table and relishing the cool wood beneath her face. "My back is killing me. How do you do it without collapsing every time, Sango?"
"It'll help build your endurance, Kagome," the former slayer helpfully pointed out, "This is good for you. I think Miroku had told you to work on that too so that it would be easier to go at that seal."
"Yeah. He said that about my meditation too," Kagome grumbled, lifting her head and staring moodily at the table, "Wanna know what happened with that?"
"Sure?"
"I got my ribbon stolen. Again."
Sango bit her lip to keep from smiling. She'd been filled in about Captain Kuchiki's tendency to steal her friend's hair ribbons for no particular reason. Hadn't Kagome ever been subjected to a boy's teasing when she was a kid? Did she know what it all meant?
"Did you have words with Captain Kuchiki?"
"That's the thing!" the raven-haired girl snapped, slapping a hand on the table and growling under her breath, "He didn't steal it! Some guy in this samurai getup and this crazy warlord mask took it!"
Sango blinked. There was someone else that was taking her friend's ribbons?!
'I can tolerate the Captain because he's an honorable man that will eventually give them back, but I'm not so confident about this new guy!'
"Did you get it back?"
Kagome snorted and flopped back in her seat, groaning when her back protested the action, "No. I did tell the Captain, and he said he'd take care of it, so I can only wait at this point."
"Kagome... You're going to run out of ribbons at this rate," the former taijiya murmured, a lazy grin spreading across her face. The priestess nodded glumly at that.
"I know. I'm going to have to go shopping to get a couple more."
"I'll go with you and we'll pick some cute ones out," the other girl sympathized, grinning when the smaller shinigami smiled happily.
"Yeah! We'll make a girl's day of it! You wouldn't mind if I invited Rukia, would you?"
"No. Not at all. She's your friend too," Sango immediately agreed, even though inwardly she was a little wary. She wasn't sure what to think of the noblewoman; it honestly chafed at her a little. She'd spent so long with just Kagome that it was an all-together new experience to have to share her with another female that looked to be around their age. But there was no way she was going to make the priestess choose between her and Rukia, so the slayer was willing to give the Kuchiki female the benefit of the doubt.
'Until she proves otherwise, of course.' Getting back to the present, the brunette pulled a letter from her robes and handed it to Kagome. "I got a letter from Kohaku. He wants me to come by for a while. Kaede will be there too. I thought today, if you weren't doing anything, we could go?"
Kagome was speechless for a second as she stared at the letter before she whooped in joy and pounced on the woman she'd come to call sister. "Can we really?! That would be great! Let's go right now!"
With that, the ex-school girl dragged her closest friend off and set off in the direction of the Rukongai. She couldn't wait to see the old priestess! She had so many things she wanted to tell her!
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Taking a deep breath, Kagome coughed loudly when she and Sango passed by a particularly smelly stall.
"Good old Rukongai," the priestess wheezed, choking for some air and hiding her nose with her sleeve. "I sure don't miss it sometimes."
Sango laughed and waved at an old woman selling... beets.
'Am I really seeing that right?' the former school girl thought, resisting the urge to rub her eyes. Her slayer friend pulled her along, their steps slowly becoming wider.
"I know Kaede is really excited to see you, as is Kohaku, but there's a little something you should know about before we get there."
"Hmm? What's up?" the smaller shinigami slowed her pace and turned to face an agitated Sango.
"There's someone else that was with us too. It took a while for all of us to get used to him, but he's really very kind. You can't overreact, okay?"
"Don't worry so much!" the blue-eyed girl waved the brunette's concern off, "I doubt anyone or anything can surprise me much anymore."
"If you're sure... Just remember that when I tell you to eat your words," Sango countered, getting a shove from her oldest friend. With a tentative grin, the two girls continued on their way. A few minutes later they were approaching a small home that was just short of being shabby. Oddly enough, it reminded the priestess of Kaede's hut.
"Kaede! Kohaku! I'm back!" Sango called out, her voice quavering only just slightly.
"Sango-san? Is that you?" A deeper male voice answered back, pulling aside the hut's curtain and stepping outside.
Kagome gaped openly at the person that came out of the hut first, Kohaku quickly following what she was hoping was a mirage. Oh wait. She couldn't be fooled by those. Her hand automatically strayed to her Zanpakuto. This was bad! Really really bad!
"You! How did-! I-! How the hell are you even here!" the priestess finally managed to hiss out, blue eyes dark and furious as she unsheathed her blade and took a defensive stance, "You should have gone straight to hell the moment that battle was finished!"
"Ka-Kagome-sama!" Kohaku stuttered, blocking the angry priestess's path as she tried to make her way towards her opponent. Sango wrapped her arms around the volatile woman as she struggled, "He's not Naraku! I promise that!"
"Like hell! Let me at him!" Kagome snarled, blue eyes spitting fury at the man behind the younger taijiya. A flash of hurt crossed his face, but she disregarded it immediately. Naraku knew how to fool people by manipulating their emotions.
"It's true, Kagome-chan!" Sango wheezed out, digging her heels in and attempting to stop the smaller girl from waving her sword around erratically, "Before you met Kohaku and I, we were hired by Kagewaki-san to deal with some renegade demons. He was possessed by Naraku the entire time!"
"When you and Inuyasha purified Naraku, it set his soul free too!" Kohaku continued quickly when the younger woman stopped struggling, trying to piece everything together and keep from skewering the man that looked so much like her nemesis through the gut, "He's been waiting to meet you for a long time. He wants to thank you."
"Whu- Whaat?" Kagome choked out, staring at Kagewaki as though she was seeing him for the first time. Which might just have been true, in this case. There wasn't a hint of malice surrounding him, his eyes weren't that terrifying glowing crimson color. Hell, she didn't even sense the faint tingling of the miasma Naraku was always so fond of. This man... he was completely human.
"Remember what you said and give him a chance!" Sango hissed quietly, releasing the priestess and stepping back a few paces. Kagewaki glanced at the older taijiya, and must have been given some kind of signal, because he nodded and bowed politely to the flabbergasted girl.
"It's an honor to finally have the chance to meet you as myself, Kagome-sama."
"I... Uhh... Thanks?" Kagome squeaked, flushing darkly at the smooth cadance of his voice. It was funny; with Naraku's cold cruel personality and the malicious intent that had oozed from him, she'd never once thought about whether he'd looked nice or not. The former shogun was definitely a refined handsome young man. "It's... umm... nice to meet you too? The real you, I mean!"
Inwardly, she was smacking herself. 'Stupid! You sound like an idiot!'
"Ye must not worry so, Kagome. Kagewaki bears ye no ill will," a familiar voice spoke from the doorway of the hut as the curtain was pulled aside. Kagome's breath caught in her throat and she gave a tentative bob of her head to the tall man standing in front of her before dashing around him and flinging herself into the old priestess's embrace.
"Kaede! Oh! I missed you soo much!" She took several deep breaths to keep the urge to cry from surfacing. She wasn't a crybaby anymore! She was a strong independent woman that knew how to take care of herself now! She'd come a long way from that frightened 15 year old that had accidently brought the Shikon no Tama back into the past.
"And I have missed ye as well," the old woman answered, patting the shaking girl on the back gently before pulling back, "Now, let me have a good look at ye, child."
"You want me to look sharp?" Kagome joked, remembering the first time she'd met Kaede. The other priestess chuckled and turned the girl's chin this way and that just a little.
"Ye are not a half-wit, Kagome. This old one knows that truly. Most of all," Kaede reasoned, a grizzly smile lifting some of her wrinkles before she pursed her mouth in a thin line, "ye are well on your way to become something so much greater than mine sister could ever hope to achieve. This seal, however, is rather complex, is it not?"
Kagome blinked slowly, processing the old woman's words and nodding just as her chin was released. She was thankful that Kaede had said that, even though she'd long accepted that there would always be a part of her that would remind them all of Kikyo. "Yeah. It's draining me until I have nothing left. It doesn't help that if I use my powers, healing or otherwise, that the energy isn't replenished. At this point, I'm down to my last reserves. Once those are gone..." She shuffled her feet sadly, "I'll be a normal girl. A normal, everyday spirit here in the Soul Society. They'll probably throw me out of the Court Guard."
"No they won't," Sango piped up, fear making her brown eyes shine. "They'll do something worse."
Kaede looked around for a moment, then gestured them all towards the large hut. "Come, this dicussion should not be held where others can hear. It would be wise to not mention such weakness in public, Kagome."
The younger priestess nodded and turned to glance at Sango's anxious expression.
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Once all were settled in, she began to explain what had happened after she'd made the wish on the Jewel. Kaede made her explain what little she could remember of her Konsol.
"See, that's the strange thing. That's the only part I don't really remember that well. All I know is that I was watching over my family three months after my death one minute, the next I'm surrounded by this warm feeling and I hear chanting. I'm pretty sure that's when the seal was placed on me."
"I see. So the shinigami that crossed ye was responsible for thy constriction on thine powers," the old weathered woman murmured, nodding before indicating she continue.
"And that was it. I woke up in Rukongai. District 40, actually, and started healing and helping people to the best of my ability. Four years later, I was being sent off to the Shinigami Academy." The younger priestess shrugged after that, poking at the fire in the middle of the floor.
"Describe the warm feeling again in detail. Perhaps it might jog thine memory a little."
"Like I said, it was warm, like being curled up by a fire and reading a good book. All I can remember of the voice was that it was male sounding."
"This is most peculiar. All of us remember at least the faces of the ones that crossed us," Kaede sighed, dishing up the stew in the pot over the fire and passing it out to everyone.
All were silent for a few moments before Kagewaki cleared his throat. It made Kagome jump juat a little. She still wasn't really used to the man that looked so much like Naraku being in the same room as her without trying to manipulate or kill her.
"I would like to speak to Lady Kagome, if you will permit this," he started, directing the last part of his sentence to the startled priestess. She nodded uncertainly after Sango elbowed her slightly.
"Give him a chance!" hissed through her head, and she finally straightened up and gave her full attention to the former shogun. He gave her a small smile of thanks in gratitude.
"Words can not express my gratitude enough, Kagome-sama," Kagewaki murmured, bowing so deeply his forehead almost touched the floor, "I am forever in your debt, my lady. Should you ever need me, all you must do is ask."
Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to push words past her dry lips. This...
"... Please... Please don't bow to me. I'm not some great noble or-!" The former shogun sat up quickly, determination shining in his eyes.
"You deserve nothing less than the outmost respect, Kagome-sama! Do not believe for one moment that you are less than a savior. A hero to all that were touched by Naraku and that tainted jewel!"
"If I was such a great hero, how come I died?!" the priestess snapped, glaring angrily at the stunned noble, "How come I was killed almost instantly when that car swerved and hit me as I pushed my little brother out of the way?! How come I was sent here and my powers were sealed so tightly that I'm losing my position as a shinigami?! How come, even after wishing that filthy stupid jewel out of existence, its' effects are haunting me even in death?!"
The entire hut was silent in the wake of her words, and she ducked her head, feeling her eyes tear up. Damn it! She was not going to cry! Jolting to her feet, she murmured "Excuse me" and fled.
She wouldn't cry! Not in front of anyone!
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"I did not mean to upset you, my lady," his voice murmured from behind her. Kagome took a few deep breaths, her eyes squeezed shut as she reigned in her emotions, and glanced back at Kagewaki. He stood there, regret shining in his eyes as he watched her very carefully. The priestess shook her head.
"No. It's not you I'm angry at," she answered, biting her lip and glancing away, "I'm... It was more self-directed. I just... I feel so helpless right now. All those things you said about me? I don't feel like some great hero. I'm not strong, I'm certainly not in complete control of what little spiritual energy I have left, and I just-!" Her tirade was cut off abruptly when the former noble enveloped her in a hug. She was a little stunned; this man that she only just barely knew was giving her an outlet.
"I can understand your frustration, Kagome-sama, but it does not negate the great things you have done and what you sacrificed in order to restore peace to the world," Kagewaki explained, pulling away and resting his hands on her shoulders, "Even when Naraku had control of me, there was a small part of me that could still see and know what you were fighting for. I admired that strength you possessed; something that I was not able to exude. Whereas I fell to Naraku's schemes, you stood and rebelled with everything you had."
"I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I'm just... I'm scared. What if I can't lift this seal?" Kagome whimpered, shaking her head to try and steady herself. Her vision was starting to get splotchy. What was going on?
"Then I don't doubt for a moment that Kaede-sama would take you in with all of us," the former noble replied, his gaze narrowing sharply when the small shinigami began to sway a little, "Are you well, my lady?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine! Just... lots of... excitement... today-!" the priestess murmured, her words slurring as her world tilted. The last thing she heard and saw was Kagewaki frantically calling her name and a pink glow surrounding her before she lost consciousness.
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"-too much stress. It is draining her far faster than I feared," a voice above Kagome registered as she dragged herself out of sleep. Gods, she felt so tired!
"What can we do, Miroku? I mean, I've never seen anything like this! Even when we were all alive!" Sango's words swam in her head for a moment as she tried to decipher what the other woman was talking about.
"Wherever it was you took her to, do not do so again." Ah. That sounded like Captain Kuchiki. Wait... What was he doing in Rukongai?
"She needed to speak with someone that we all knew!" Sango snapped, sounding usually angry. Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she focused on the ceiling of a roof that seemed rather familiar. Oh. The hospital.
'Great. What did I do this time?' She was about to sit up, but a pair of cool violet eyes pinned her to her spot. It'd been a while since Miroku had given her that look. And it made her swell with the need to apologize, never mind that she hadn't had any control about it this time.
"I see you're awake, Kagome, and that you decided to go off on another little adventure without me," the monk muttered, gaining everyone else's attention. Kagome swallowed slowly and nodded as she pulled herself upright.
"I just wanted to say hi to Kaede. That was it, I swear!" she begged, meeting disapproving purple with pleading blue.
"And no one thought to warn me when he came walking in with you unconscious in his arms!" Miroku hissed, waving one arm in the general direction that she assumed Kagewaki was in.
"Did you try to kill him right off too?" the priestess asked innocently, twisting a pattern in her sheet as she refused to meet either Sango or Byakuya's gazes.
"I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then when I pinch myself and he didn't go away, Sango nearly murdered me herself. She held me at swordpoint to keep me from taking the man's head off!" her old friend flailed his arms, sending the taijiya in the room a nasty glare. She had the decency to look ashamed.
"I was preventing unnecesary bloodshed," the brunette murmured.
"You will all explain to me what happened or I will begin pulling rank and ordering," the only Captain in the room hissed out, sending a cold look from one feudal friend to the other.
"Kagome just had a little fainting spell, that's all," Sango explained quickly, making the other girl wince and sigh.
"I hardly believe that was all," the noble growled out.
"It was! I wouldn't lie about her! Especially in the condition she's been in recently!" And they were back to arguing again. Kagome almost snorted. Sango could sure be viscious when she wanted to be.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Miroku asked quietly, not wanting to draw himself into the fight.
"Yeah. Just got a little over-excited today, that's all," the black-haired girl replied just as quietly. It seemed to be enough to appease the monk temporarily because he backed off and glanced at the door. Poking their heads in were Rukia, Rin, and Renji. Apparently the calvary had been called.
As the newcomers entered the scene and tried to calm Byakuya and Sango down, the former guardian turned her mind inward and let her gaze unfocus briefly.
Kagome searched the deepest part of herself and began to worry. Whatever had caused her to black out, it had altered something inside her. Something that was urgently telling her that she had a lot less time that she'd originally thought.
Somehow, her situation had become critical to her survival.
'I can't tell them.' Staring around at the people that were murmuring around her, she clenched her top over the spot where her heart was. 'I won't tell them.'
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A/N: You guys, I am so sorry about the massive screw-up! This was supposed to go before Induction! I can't believe I messed up so bad! I feel horrible, but I'm going to fix it! This means, though, that I'll have to repost those other chapters. Once again, I apologize for my lack of sense, but this one-shot won't make any sense unless I fix it all!
The next couple of chapters will be up in a few days. Again, I am so sorry!
Please don't murder me!