InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Final Battle ❯ Legend of the Priestess ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Oh, my. Thank you so much for the comments! I know, I’ve taken a long time...but after reading the sixth book, I felt so...uninspired. I hope, that should there be any faithful HP fans amongst you, you’ll take this fiction for what it is, and you won’t hate me for adjusting the universe to suit my own creative needs! And I’ll try to be as quick about updating as I can possibly be, yaksoku.

Disclaimer - Both Harry Potter and Inu-Yasha are characters and stories that belong to J.K. Rowling and Rumiko Takahashi. I am neither of those awesome persons!

RECAP: The four friends went toppling to the ground in a messy heap at the absence of the boggart to support them. Sloppily attempting to resume composure, Ron and Hermione stood up, looking with wide, confused eyes as Harry put his hands on Kagome’s arms. She kneeled next to the space on the wall where the boggart had warmed it, and had her eyes closed miserably, salty rivulets wetting her face and collar. “Kagome?” Harry tentatively called.

“Inu-Yasha...” She sorrowfully moaned in response. “I never meant for you to die.” Her body shuddered.

“I’m sorry...”




Chapter 5




Kagome opened her eyes, her stiff body slowly rising from its dormant state. Sitting up, she looked around. She appeared to be in the infirmary, with two rows of hospital beds lined up against each wall. She looked to her right, and found a glass of water on a nightstand. Rubbing her eyes, she reached for the glass and drank.


Sunlight poured through tall windows, her clock-less experience in the past telling her it would be around noon–about two hours after her first class.


‘Oh, my...what happened?’ Kagome scratched her head, flipping the covers of her body. Stretching out her arms, she stood up from the bed. ‘Oh...that’s right. I passed out. After...Inu...’ Suddenly, the doors opened with a long creak.


“Kagome!” Hermione, Harry, and Ron ran inside the infirmary to the drowsy girl’s side.


“H-Hey, guys...sorry I was such a head case before, I don’t know what came over me.” She scratched her head uncomfortably, sheepishly avoiding eye contact.


“That’s fine, Kagome...in all fairness to you, that was your very first encounter with a boggart. You dealt with it quite well!” Hermione encouraged.


“That’s right. The first time I saw a boggart, I fainted.” Harry said, for the first time glad that his mortifying experience could serve some good in this particular situation.


“Blimey...I’d dealt with boggarts many times before, and today, I still panicked.” Ron said, shuddering at the memory of his personal fear. “But...I don’t understand. If the boggart represented your greatest fear, why d’you run towards it, or, him, instead of away...?”


Kagome sighed, and looked away. She was silent. Finally, Hermione spoke. “Look, we’re sorry, Kagome. If you don’t want to talk about it–“


“I killed him.”


The other three looked up at Kagome. “What?” Harry said, eyes wide.


“Inu-Yasha...I...my wish...he never...I never meant to, but, just...” Kagome shook her head. She moved to sit on the bed, sorting out her thoughts, and took a deep breath. “Um...perhaps it would be best if I told you the whole story. I feel like I can now...


“For the longest time, I wouldn’t even let myself think about my past in the Sengoku Jidai–the feudal era–I couldn’t bear the pain of remembering. It was just too sad. But I need to get past that...and, you guys, I don’t know...I know we’ve only known each other since yesterday, but I feel like I can trust you.”


‘Can I?’ Kagome silently wondered, ready to continue with her story.


“Before I turned fifteen, I didn’t believe in much of anything. I mean, I had my religion, but as for the monsters and spirits my grandpa spoke about, I thought they were all a hoax. But on my fifteenth birthday, I lost my cat in the well house by my shrine, and when I went to find him, I was pulled down the well by a big centipede demon. In my panic, I pushed her away, and without even meaning to, my spiritual powers kind of blasted her arms off.”


“Ugghh...” Ron wrinkled his nose, not thrilled at the thought of another gigantic bug present in this world.


“Yeah. Well, anyway, I tried to climb out of the well, but when I did, I was no longer in a well house. I was in a forest, thick with vines and trees...the metropolitan smell of diesel and smokestacks of Tokyo were replaced with...nature. And then, I saw him.


“At first, I thought he was just a normal boy. I mean, sure...he was unusually dressed in red, traditional Japanese haori and hakama, pinned by arrow to the same God-tree I had in my backyard, and had clearly been there for quite some time, what with all the vines growing on him. But, I had just been assaulted by an insect the size of a hummer, so I wasn’t really thinking clearly. I got a little closer, and saw...the most incredible long, silver hair. And, what really interested me, was that he didn’t seem to have any ears behind all that hair. Well, no human ears, at least...instead, there was an odd set of soft, triangular, dog-like ears, right there, on top of his head.” Kagome giggled. “They were so cute!


“Anyway, I was seized by a couple of villagers, and found out that I had somehow traveled back 500 years in time, and had no way of knowing how to return to the present. The priestess of the village was an old woman named Kaede, and she mentioned that, with my striking resemblance to her older sister, I might have been the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyou, who died 50 years ago, protecting the Shikon no Tama. Then, the centipede demon returned, killing off several villagers. I figured it was after me, so I ran into the forest of the well, only to find that the strange boy had somehow been...resurrected. And, boy, was he a cranky morning person. He kept calling me ‘Kikyou,’ too, and really hated me for it.


“So, the centipede demon returned and was out for my blood, and succeeded, giving me this scar.” Kagome lifted part of her blouse and pushed down some of her skirt, revealing an angry pink scar on her hip. “But, to my surprise, something popped out of me! It was that Shikon Jewel Grandpa had been telling me about, and the centipede demon wasn’t the only one who wanted it. After I freed the dog-boy–whose name was Inu-Yasha–and pulled the magic arrow this ‘Kikyou’ had shot and sealed him with 50 years ago, he sliced and diced the centipede demon, saving my life. But once I had recovered the jewel from the bug-flesh, he started after me! Foul-mouthed, two-timing, sunova...and after I freed him! Arghh...but I got him good in the end. Kaede threw a rosary around his neck, and once I initialized a very convenient charm of subjugation, he found that killing me to get to the jewel was not gonna be too easy, heh, heh, heh...” Kagome let out a very un-Kagome-like cackle, relishing in the memory of the explosive thud Inu-Yasha’s fall would emit with her every [justified] utterance of “osuwari.”


“Well, to make a long, long story short, the jewel was sought after by many other demons, and in one of my attempts to save the jewel from someone else’s hands, I kinda...broke it. Shattered it, actually...into many, many little pieces. Oh, Inu-Yasha was pissed. Kaede said it was up to us to work together and put every piece of the jewel back together again...and Inu-Yasha was real eager to do that as soon as humanly–or, demonly–possible. You see, Inu-Yasha was a rare case; he was a hanyou, a half-demon, whose mother was a human who fell in love with a powerful Dog-youkai. Hanyous weren’t accepted, at all, and after his mother’s murder, all he wanted to do was to use the jewel to become full-demon.


“One person had almost changed that. Kikyou was a priestess who guarded the jewel 50 years prior to when I arrived in the feudal era, and gradually, she and Inu-Yasha, they...fell in love.” Kagome shifted uncomfortably, her insecurity noted by Harry. “But unfortunately, someone else had fallen in love with Kikyou, too. He was an invalid, a rogue bandit whose body had been nearly destroyed in a fire, and whose survival depended on the kindness of Kikyou’s ministrations. His name was Onigumo; ‘Spider-demon,’ and he was evil. His entire soul was consumed by greed, corruption...he harbored impure thoughts about tainting Kikyou, making her as filthy as he was. Kikyou knew of his nature, and yet, she still helped him.


“One day, his desire had made him so twisted that he offered his body up to hell in exchange for the chance to have Kikyou. The evil that surrounded him was so powerful, that it attracted hundreds of demons, all of which ate his body, and merged into a singular, foul creature...thus, Naraku was born. Naraku...he was a master of disguises, and led both Inu-Yasha and Kikyou to believe that each of them had been betrayed by the other. Disguised as Inu-Yasha, he inflicted upon Kikyou fatal wounds, and as Kikyou, he shot at Inu-Yasha with a bow and arrow, narrowly missing him. However, a very hurt Inu-Yasha decided to go after the jewel. Before Naraku had intervened, both Kikyou and Inu-Yasha had planned on using the jewel to make Inu-Yasha human, but now, all he desired was the blood of a demon once more. But right when he had the jewel, an injured Kikyou shot him through the heart, right into the God-tree.


“Kikyou died, and Inu-Yasha went into a deep sleep. When I woke him up, he resented me for being Kikyou’s reincarnation...but, we slowly learned to be...friends. Of course, when some old witch stole my soul and resurrected a very vengeful Kikyou from clay of earth, he had no qualms about ditching me occasionally and flocking to her side, even though she constantly tried to kill us both, but, whatever. While we were on our quest, we met up with an adorable little fox demon, a cat demon, a demon huntress, and a perverted monk. The monk and the huntress are–well, um, were–actually married, right after we finally got all the shards together. You see, it was incredibly taxing. There were so many shards, and Naraku was...a very difficult demon to deal with, to put it lightly. He constantly changed forms, and usually had his minions, or puppets, to do his dirty work. He desired the jewel intensely, for he too was a hanyou, being born a human.


“After a year and a half of fighting together, nearly dying together, and just...being together, we had finally defeated Naraku, thanks to Kikyou’s sacrifice. In our last battle, Naraku was using his morphing body to suck in the others, humans and demons alike, and have them merge with his body. He had gathered shikon shards and stole the ones we found, so the full power of the shikon jewel had acted as a catalyst for his already enormous power. He almost succeeded, and we were almost toast, until Kikyou jumped in to the fray, her miko power causing this gigantic, explosive purification of Naraku’s body. It was at that time when I was able to find the jewel shards which had fused together between the miko energy and Naraku’s miasma...but Kikyou was almost dead, again, and her broken clay body would not be repaired. She had been living off of the souls of dead village girls, and they were rapidly flying out of her body, giving her just enough time to free Inu-Yasha of any of his...obligations...to her.


“Well, my quest was essentially over, but there was still the jewel to protect, and there still existed demons who would try and steal it. So, I knew I had to make the wish. And, as lame as it sounds, I’m sure...I wished for peace in the feudal era. I wanted my friends to live safely, and have a calm, happy life together. But youkai, by nature, crave chaos. So, what did my wish do? It changed all full-blooded youkai in the area around present-Tokyo back into their natural forms...be they wolf, dog, or even water. But, half-demons, they were affected differently....” Kagome trailed off, her voice breaking in despair. “Inu-Yasha...the force of the wish–my wish–caused him to fall unconscious. Just like what happened with Kikyou’s arrow, only, he never woke up. He just...disappeared. Weird, huh? And I...I faded out of that world permanently. The well was sealed, and would no longer work to transport me through time. But it wasn’t for lack of trying,” she laughed, wiping a tear from her face.


“The jewel disintegrated, absorbing itself once more into my body, only, in essence, not actual, physical, jewel-form. I guess that was the resounding proof of my being Kikyou’s reincarnation...Both our bodies served as protective houses to the jewel. Both our hearts were devoted to one man. And both our choices killed him off.” She stopped, and then stood, fists clenched. “Ugh! I have got to pull myself together. I did what I could, and the demons are gone. Everything’s as it should be. I’d have liked to have been able to say good-bye properly, but I guess, some things just aren’t meant to be. But that was over six months ago, and it’s time to move on.” She looked at her friends, startled to see their somber, sympathetic faces; Hermione looking at her with glassy eyes. Kagome tilted her head, and smiled. “Hey, sorry for letting my load off on you...I don’t know what I was thinking–“


Hermione’s arms wrapped around Kagome in a sisterly hug. Kagome stiffened, and then relaxed, bringing her own arms around her tender friend. “Don’t ever apologize for saying what you feel, Kagome; we’re your friends now, and we won’t ever let you leave us without saying good-bye.”


Kagome smiled, making eye contact with both Ron and Harry. “Thank you.”


The group sighed. Then, Hermione’s eyes filled with sheer, earth-shattering horror. She looked down at her watch.


“Oh, CRAP! We’re late for our next class!”




_____________________________________ _____________________________________________






By the time Harry, Ron, and Kagome had made it around several corridors, down five flights of stairs, and into the three free seats of Seventh-Year Potions, they were all panting and damp with perspiration.


They soon forgot their tired states as they felt a pair of menacing, piercing eyes upon each of their trembling forms.


“So glad you could carve the time out of your busy schedules to make my class.” Professor Severus Snape glared poisonously at each of the three.


Unwisely, but with the very best of intentions, Kagome spoke. “Um, we’re really, very sorry, Professor. You see, it was my fault–“


“Silence!” His voice cracked like a whip against Kagome’s eardrum, and she slightly cowered. “You will not speak unless you are spoken to, Miss...Hi-gu-ra-shi, I believe?”
“Um, yes, sir.”


“What did I say about not speaking? That’ll be twenty-five points from Gryffindor; five for each of your tardies, ten for your disobedience, now sit down.”


“Aw, come on, Professor Snape...she’s new, and she was just in the infirmary for Heaven’s sake!” Harry exclaimed with exasperation.


“And another five for your insolence, Potter! Now, SIT DOWN, before I make your thirty into fifty!” The three sullenly made their way to the only three empty seats there were. Harry and Ron absentmindedly chose one of the twin desks for themselves, leaving Kagome to share the one diagonally up from it.


Who, of course, should share a desk with her, but Draco Malfoy.


“Hello, Miss Hi-gu-ra-shi.” The blonde boy sneered, enjoying the feel of her name on his tongue.


“Um, hello, Draco.” Kagome flushed. She was growing less and less fond of this boy, and found it terribly disconcerting to have her note-taking disturbed by a boisterous seatmate. She only hoped he would be more studious in the future, or else she would have to request a seat change for less of a distraction.


“My condolences on being summoned to the Gryffindor House–not a winning bunch, I’m sad to say.”


Kagome simply nodded, struggling to keep up with Professor Snape as she scribbled away on her notebook. Malfoy continued. “And I extend even further apologies for having caught yourself up with Potter and his friends. There’s a pack of losers if I ever saw one.” Kagome’s hand trembled as she wrote; she was REALLY growing a firm dislike for this boy! “Maybe you ought to hang around me instead. I could show you a much better time than those filthy idiots...why, that frizzy-haired egghead of a witch is hardly worth a house elf’s attention; what, with her parents not even magic. And that measly Weasley, can’t even afford a decent wand! Those two deserve each other...” Kagome’s quill snapped.


“If you don’t mind, Mr. Malfoy, I’d appreciate it if you ceased to ridicule my friends in front of me. I find it incredibly rude of you.” She said, fury shaking each of her words.


“Miss Higurashi, that will be another ten points from Gryffindor for disrupting the class. Just because you are a transfer student, do not think this allows you to prance around my classroom to do as you please. Now, get back to work.” Snape coldly stared at her for a moment, and then resumed his lecture.


Ashen-faced, Kagome bent down to continue her note-taking. Malfoy snickered, satisfied, and decided to continue with his own work, for a change.



________________________________________________ ______________________________




Three weeks had passed, in similar fashion. Kagome was still having trouble ignoring the snide comments of Malfoy, and Professor Snape wasn’t making things any easier for her. She still had to sit out on the boggart unit in DADA class, seeing as she couldn’t very well eliminate what was already dead, and despite the warmth of her teacher, she still left the class each day feeling somewhat disheartened.


On the bright side, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had accepted Kagome quite naturally into their group, and on the last night of Summer, the four had decided to take their dinner outside. “So,” Ron asked. “What’s your favorite Quidditch team, Kag’me?”


“My what?” Kagome asked with curiosity, picking up a chicken wing.


“You idiot–she doesn’t even know what Quidditch is!” Hermione once more backhanded Ron on his head, knocking his corn cob onto the grassy hill.


“Quidditch is a popular Wizard’s sport.” Harry began, watching with interest as the corn tumbled gracefully down the green terrain, leaving a slug-like trail of butter behind it. “It’s a bit like basketball, only, the players fly on broomsticks.”


“Oh.” Kagome nodded with vague understanding. “So, what...do you play, or anything?”


“Hawweez a shee-kah. Ee pwayz fo-wa de Gwyff-in-do-wa shkool team.” Ron jumbled, spilling out bits of asparagus as Kagome struggled to make out what he said. Hermione just rolled her eyes.


“A seeker is what chases a small, flying, golden ball, called the ‘snitch,’ around the field. There’s one seeker for each team, and whichever seeker catches the snitch earns a large sum of points for his or her respective team. Ron also plays on the team.” Hermione stated, her eyes softening slightly.


“Hey, you guys!” The four looked up, to see an awkward boy running in their direction.


“What’s up, Neville?” Harry asked, greeting his friend.


“What’s up yourself, Harry? Ron, Hermione?” Neville panted as he crouched down next to the others.


“Oh, Nev, this is Kagome Higurashi. She’s the transfer student from Japan.” Harry said, indicating Kagome with an affectionate pat on her shoulder.


“So I’ve heard! Nice to meet you, Kagome, I’m Neville Longbottom.” He shook her hand cordially. “Now, wait a minute, I had something...somewhere...” Neville anxiously searched his pockets, wondering where he last put whatever he was looking for. “Oh, well, no matter. It was a notice for the Fireworks display they’re having at Hogsmeade tonight.” Neville grinned brightly.


“Hogsmeade? Neville, you know we aren’t allowed to go to Hogsmeade until the school organizes it.” Hermione reprimanded disapprovingly. “Besides which; Kagome’s new, she’s had a trying time adjusting, and I don’t think–“


“Hogsmeade? Where’s that?” Kagome asked, eyes lighting up.


“It’s the town in where Hogwarts lies. Oh, it’s wonderful; candy shops, pubs, attractions...” Neville sighed dreamily. “...But, Hermione’s right. We shouldn’t be breaking the rules, and if you’ve had a rough time anyway, that might not be such a great idea...” he trailed off, a bit put out.


“Actually, Neville, I think Hogsmeade is just the cure for all of our end-of-summer madness. Thank you!” Harry said, finishing his steak and assuming standing position. He looked at the others expectantly, as he flicked his wand and vanished the plate. “Well?”


Ron followed suit, but Hermione shook her head. “We can’t, Harry...Kagome’s probably really tired...”


“Oh, I’m not tired at all!” Kagome excitedly said. “In fact, I’m just itching to get up and do something. A fireworks display sounds great!” She got up, and allowed Harry to vanish her empty plate for her.


“But...” Hermione began uncertainly, fighting an internal battle. Finally, she got up, vanished her plate in annoyance, and stalked away. Turning around, she huffed. “Well? Aren’t you coming? Somebody has to come and take care of Kagome.”


Neville, Harry, Ron, and Kagome quickly met Hermione’s brusque pace. “Hey...we are perfectly capable of taking care of Kagome!” Harry fired indignantly.


“I think you mean to say that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” Kagome sniffed, a small grin twisting upon her lips. “But who can say? I’ve never been to Hogsmeade, before!”


“You’ll love it!” Neville enthusiastically trilled, as the five strode off to one of Harry’s secret passageways.


“I’m sure she will...” A voice, somewhere, quietly agreed.



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I’m so sorry! So much of this chapter was background info. Please don’t hate me! I promise I’ll try and get the meat of the story rolling ASAP. :D ---Kapitan Nemo