A/N: Enjoy!
Beta; Cstorm86
The Miko's Purifying Touch
When Kagome woke the next day, it was in her own bed, once again in her clothes, sans socks. Groggily, she rolled her head to the side, half-expecting Inuyasha to be sitting and watching over her.
But he was not in her room, she guessed it made sense. After all, this time she hadn't lost consciousness by giving away too much of her reiki. She frowned - so how did she get in the bed in her clothes then?
She remembered visiting the Kitsune Village, all the fun she and her friends had there. She smiled when she remembered Uka and Shi, Shippou constantly crawling from the lap of one parent to the other and back, hugging and nuzzling them. The memory of how she'd came back home followed those sweet images.
The ride on Inuyasha's back was like soaring through a dream. At a speed that Kagome suspected was his full speed, Inuyasha was practically breezing through the forest, the labyrinth of branches and leaves, undergrowth and meadows seemed to blend together in a bizarre, otherworldly image of green and sunlight. The wind blew past them, whipping her hair as she pushed her face into the soft fur of his ruff to protect it from getting hit by a twig. Inuyasha was leaping in huge strides, his paws seemed to touch the ground just for the briefest moment before his muscular legs carried him forward, his ears leaning back. She had been gripping his flanks with her legs as tightly as she dared to, her hands gradually had gone from holding onto the ruff over his shoulder blades to wrapping around his neck.
She remembered what he had told her then. 'Don't worry, I won't let you fall.' There had been no teasing, no cockiness in his mind voice when he had said that. A warm, gentle smile spread across her lips when Kagome thought about this bit. Soon after that assurance she had fallen asleep, lulled into dreamland by the rhythmic motion of the graceful canine running smoothly.
At the start of their wild run she had been afraid someone would see them - a girl riding a humongous white dog. She had told Inuyasha about her worries just to receive a scoff in return. The hanyou somehow had managed to stick to the deep forests, only once crossing an abandoned village with its buildings empty and forgotten. And, as the day had changed into the night, the worry in her heart had subsided.
And now she was back home. Kagome sighed and stretched before she finally left the bed. It was probably high time to get up, make breakfast and go to do her work. 'When the visitors are gone for today I need to type down the experience,' she decided. She had a vague idea of a series of short stories with supernatural creatures in them. Kitsune were sure to be one of them - with her newly acquired knowledge she was sure she could make at least a handful of cool stories.
'It'd be fitting, after all I'm going to inherit the shrine, so creating a collection of youkai stories feels natural,' she thought as she was taking a quick shower.
An hour later, refreshed, dressed in her miko attire and with her belly full, Kagome went about her shrine duties. She paid her respects to the deity and thanked them shortly for the blessing that Shippou's visit - and safe return to his family - had been. Inuyasha had already swept the whole place, but there were other things she had to do.
Hiro approached her around midday, followed by a pair with a child, a girl not older than ten. The pair introduced themselves and told her that they were visiting the shrine annually since their daughter's birth, as a show of gratitude to the deity that granted them their wish of having a healthy baby.
"But this winter Ami got really sick and since then she easily gets tired," the father of the girl confessed, looking at his baby. The girl was pale and her eyes were tired as she looked up at Kagome shyly. "We asked doctors, but they say she's fine."
"Please, can you cleanse her?" the mother asked. "We're afraid she's under an influence of something..." she glanced to Hiro, obviously uncertain, but hopeful.
"I will do what I can," Kagome nodded firmly before she knelt before the girl and smiled warmly at her. "Hi there, Ami. I'm Kagome." She outstretched her hand towards the kid.
"...Hi," the girl said shyly, clinging to her mother's leg. The woman offered a small, soft smile to encourage her daughter to take the hand. As soon as Kagome felt the tiny, dry hand in her grasp, she felt that the suspicions of her parents were right, there was something wrong.
'Look at her,' she heard Inuyasha's voice and realized that he was somewhere in the forest behind her, observing them. She blinked at the girl, but she looked just like most children would, only very tired. 'Silly, focus on her aura. Like... Look around her body, not at it And beyond the illusion it put on her.'
There was an annoyed growl in his voice and Kagome wasn't sure if he was angry with her not knowing this, or with the youkai that tried to hide itself from their eyes. She did just as he told her, gently rubbing Ami's hand and trying to keep her relaxed smile in place.
It looked like an octopus with eyes on the tips of its tentacles. All those eyes glared at her from where the thing not bigger than a cup sat on Ami's left shoulder. Kagome gasped and almost dropped Ami's hand
"What is it?" asked the parents in unison, the girl taking a frightened step back towards her mother, her lower lip trembling.
"It's a youkai," Kagome muttered. "But it's not big, so don't worry. I will take care of it, listening to the gruff voice whispering in her mind. Following the instructions, she imagined her reiki flowing into her hand and patted Ami's shoulder where the youkai sat. The thing leaped off of Ami's shoulder in the last possible moment before Kagome could purify it. Kagome half turned to chase it, but the youkai was already running away, moving surprisingly fast on its tentacles. In a matter of seconds it reached the tree line.
'Inuyasha!' she called, just as she saw a white dog leap from a shadow of a tree at something on the ground. Then the canine vanished in the forest.
'Done,' came a satisfied voice of the shrine guardian. 'Take care of the humans.'
Kagome gave a nod, not even thinking if he could see it or not, then she smiled back at the spooked family huddled together a few steps away. Hiro raised an eyebrow.
"The youkai is gone and won't come back," Kagome said with joy before she stood up and brushed off her hakama. She tried not to react too surprised and overjoyed at the effectiveness of her performance. They didn't have to know that it was her first time. "Ami needs some rest and to eat a lot of healthy food, so she can replenish her energy, but she is alright now."
"Thank you," the father of the girl bowed, followed by the mother. The girl looked to her shoulder, a bit afraid, then to Kagome, with a bit more confidence.
"The ugly dreams won't come?" she asked, hopefully. Kagome nodded.
"No bad dreams for you, Ami," she assured the poor child and chuckled when the child let out a relieved sigh. "But you're going to eat a lot of veggies."
The girl groaned and made a face, causing her parents to laugh. As Kagome looked at them she could almost see them all relax and straighten their backs as if a weight had been lifted their shoulders.
"I told you, my granddaughter is a promising miko," Hiro preened. "She's still new to the spiritual work, but she's a fast learner. Now, would you like to purchase a talisman? Or maybe a vial of essential oils that help replenish energy and fend off bad dreams?" Kagome shook her head and grinned when she saw her grandfather casually leading the family towards the gift shop.
'Inuyasha?' she whispered, resuming walking towards the washing basin to make sure it was in order.
'Hm?'
"Thank you for helping me. I couldn't have done it without you.'
'Feh. You'd figure something out, wench. Besides, you are sloppy and slow, we will have to work on it. You must use your reiki without thinking if you want to catch those stinking bastards before they run away. I won't always be able to finish the job.'
'Oh, hush,' Kagome wagged a mind finger at the dog, getting in return a scoff.