InuYasha Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Miko ❯ When Will Living Become Easier? ( Chapter 6 )

MIKO

By L.O. a.k.a. azn_otaku

Crossover: InuYasha and Trigun

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A/N: It's been around eleven days since I've last updated. Not bad, if I do say so myself. This chapter is longer than the rest, I had a lot more to write! I'm not sure if I got all the sequences to flow smoothly, but I am proud of some of the stuff I wrote down. I just hope it's not too repetitive.

My Readers:

Taedere-Belletrist: Whooo....that is one LONG review! You use such big words, are you SURE that you're not better at writing than me? I'm glad I inspire you, I know I've been inspired by other authors on the net. It's nice to know that I have so much more to work on, that I could be so much better. I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter!

VASH THE STAMPEDE: There's more Vash here! Are you pleased? I put Vash in a lot of these sequences that have the Trigun cast. Lol. What was your favor you needed to ask?

Nemi: Yep, Sesshoumaru is still alive! He'll show up in one or two more chapters. As a little secret between you and me, Rin shows up in this chapter!

Walis: Rin is back and better'n' ever in this chapter! Sesshoumaru will be coming up soon as well. And I like to think that Meryl doesn't get enough credit from the fans of Trigun. I don't know, there seems to be a bit too much Meryl-bashing out there. I happen to like the girl. She's a little like Rem in a way, yet a lot different as well. She can act goofy but then again, so can Vash. And everyone likes Vash! I hope the rest of this story doesn't disappoint you!

Uber Rei Model 04: Wow, you shouldn't go into a seizure, then you wouldn't be able to read more of this fic! Lol. I'm sorry I keep waiting so long to update, I try to switch off writing chapters of "Sunshine" and "Miko". That and the fact that I have a really busy school schedule keeps me from doing anything during the week.

bluesky7: Everyone needs to feel unique! It's nice to feel different. And I'm glad the Japanese Dictionary helps, the words in the dictionary are just the definitions that I use for the story. That doesn't mean that they're the only definitions for the word. But anyways, I'm glad you enjoy "Miko". I really liked the idea of the paradise as well, it sounds so utopia-ish!

chachi: Well, at least you like it now right? And that's a really big smile!

Dragyn Fyre: It certainly is intriguing. I really like the fact that mine is the very FIRST InuYasha/Trigun crossover! Thanks for the compliments, this story is almost halfway done!

Okay, so ready for this next chapter? It's gonna be good. And there are weird things that are happening!

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"......." Dialogue

[.......] Thoughts

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Chapter Six: When Will Living Become Easier?

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"We should hold some sort of celebration for Kagome-san, she has been a friend to all of us." Sango looked from one to another in the dim light of the fire. They were all sitting around Kaede's room, resting up in between shard searched. Kagome had gone back to her own time for two days, so this was the perfect time to plan. Sango had been brooding about not having gotten a gift for her friend for her year's growth.

"I quite agree, Sango-chan. Kagome-sama has been more than kind to all of us. It would be nice to show her how much we appreciate her," the monk sitting rather too close to Sango than she would have felt comfortable with nodded, looking pointedly at the white-haired hanyou across from himself.

"What are you looking at me for Houshi? I appreciate Kagome plenty enough!"

The occupants in the room sighed, knowing full well what InuYasha's comment meant. He let Kagome go back to her time for a few days every now and then. That was good enough for the growing miko.

"InuYasha can be so stupid." Shippou hopped into Sango's lap for protection from the hanyou and he blew a raspberry at him, "You want to show her you care right? Well, she'll really know that if you do something nice for her!"

Sango, Miroku, and Shippou all blinked when InuYasha didn't retort to this comment. Instead, he blushed and stared down at his feet in contemplation. Did Kagome really want something like this? Would throwing her a party...getting her a nice gift...would she lo-like him...like that?

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"Come on out. It's time to get rid of someone for me."

Naraku waited calmly as the liquid drained from the column, being stored and cleaned in a tank underground. Like a fish tank. Kagome was his pet. His cold eyes looked on as she was helped out of the column by that new assistant, a course towel used to rub down her body. Her hair fluffed out and the wet tips plastered themselves to her pale back like small tendrils of ink. She was perfectly still as white robes were placed over her torso, her arms falling to her sides like a doll's. She looked up at her master only when they had begun to dress her in her miko pants, resistant to the tugging of the assistants.

He patted her head, ruffling her hair as if she were a dog. She blinked and her eyes closed in a half-gazed stare.

"Do you feel that?" His cold white hands gestured slowly outwards. He could feel his youkai senses tingling with the energy from up above.

She nodded once and reached out to clutch at the bow that was held out for her as if it was her child. She stroked the polished wood, taking in comfort from the curved weapon. Graceful fingers held the bow up to her cheek and she closed her eyes, welcoming an old friend.

"Go kill it."

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[Kagome is dead.]

He could feel the darkness letting up. As if foreshadowing the coming of his breath. He could feel the heartbeat grow steadily stronger. And he could feel the empty hole that was once filled with an emotion.

[Love? What is love?]

[Silly mutt.]

Was he really a mutt? Is that what his form looks like? He could feel voices surrounding him.

[Kagome is dead.]

That name.

[Kagome is no more.]

[She's dead.]

The empty hole in his heart saddened. It wrinkled, closed within itself until he could feel his heart close no more. There was a terrible shrinking, a terrible sadness. He knew this emotion. He always felt it when something bad happened.

[She's dead.]

[You stupid mutt. Kagome is dead.]

It was a terrible sadness that made his heart seem two times too small. Too small to take in another heartbeat. He could not live with this bad feeling. His heart could not beat with the dark hole shriveling and warping his emotions.

[Stupid mutt.]

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She touched his arm, "You will have to go back."

"What? Why?"

Knives watched for some secret motive within the miko. He had not gotten her name, yet he felt comforted to be in her presence. As if the two were one and the same. They had both felt the world around them change, to know that they were not a part of this flow of Time. Knives knew that he was not immortal, as Plants did die down eventually. And he knew that this miko would one day die.

But living seemed like such a hassle.

Could he ever learn what Vash had learned? His brother had a hundred years experience. What did that leave him with? He felt trapped in the flow of Time, as if he were nothing more than a clot that was not willing to budge itself. Eventually, Time will get rid of him. He felt the same of the miko. She would die. She had spent too much of what was left of her energy in protecting her friends and loved ones.

Her calm brown eyes stared into his own, "You have something to do. Something important."

"You mean...."

"...You have to find the owner of this locket and return her memories. Her life is nothing more than an empty shell without it. If this goes on for too long, her full miko powers will resurface and she will have nothing of herself to hold them back. They will destroy her, as they will destroy everything around her."

Her eyes were sad, and her face was sad. Her smile was sad. The way her hands placed the locket into his own palm was sad.

"What will happen once I do?"

"She will wake up. Her loved ones will wake up."

Knives let his face lower to stare at the ground, his eyes revealing nothing to the miko as he clenched his fist. He knew what would happen if her mission was over.

"You will die."

"Not die." The miko placed her transparent hand on his shoulder, "Never die."

"You will be no more. Isn't that the same thing?"

They stood up and the miko let her long black hair shift so that it waved in the wind. She stood still, her clothes whipping softly about her. She was still there for now, and Knives was still looking at her, for now. He let his eyes drink in her form. Her expression, the way she smiled as if he were the only person she were smiling at.

"It is not the same thing if I have already been dead. Remember, I am not alive...even now. My spirit will just fade into the ground as it was meant to be. I am not meant to walk the ground as a mortal. My spirit will be at peace in the afterlife once again."

"You will..." He looked down once more, "You will be dead in my eyes. I will not see you again."

"Does that make you sad?"

He lowered his gaze, "....Yes."

Already, he could feel the body on Gunsmoke waking up. HIS body. There was nothing more to be done here, his enchanted sleep was to come to an end. He watched the miko and his eyes tried to tell her what his mouth could not.

[I will be sad. Very sad.]

[I will not see you any more.]

She grabbed his message from high in the air and held it to her chest with lovely hands. She smiled yet again, to reassure him.

[It will be for the greater good. I am merely playing a role.]

[Do not worry so much, Knives. It will do you no good.]

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He had made sure that Kagome was not in the "house" at the moment. He sniffed out her scent, reassured that her form had moved on to that place she called "school". His leg shifted on the ground and he readied himself for the ultimate humiliation.

Asking for help.

The secret celebration Sango had been planning, the party would be in two days. He would take Kagome back and they would all have a feast. They would all give her presents and she will be happy.

But what present could he give to her?

It had to be something special. It was only at this time that he could say he cared without having to actually use his mouth. He wouldn't screw this up, he couldn't. He had to ask her family for help. And she'd better appreciate all he's going through for her.

The door had been open, and smells of lunch came wafting in from a door down the hallway. This had been the same path he had taken when he had first met Kagome and had to drag her back from the future to help with Yura of the hair. He could hear faint humming coming from the very same doorway. The scents of Souta and the grandpa were not in the building. A scent very similar to Kagome's mixed in with the powerful smells of a good meal.

Thinking nothing of it, InuYasha strode towards the door and entered. Seeing the older woman that was clearly Kagome's mother, he greeted her with his high vocabulary and grace.

"Oy. Wench."

"Ah!" The woman almost dropped her knife, holding a hand to her breast. She turned around slowly to face InuYasha, and her eyes lit up in surprise.

"InuYasha! What are you doing here? I didn't know you knew your way around the house."

"I don't. I followed your scent."

There was a crock pot standing nearby, simmering with some sort of stew. The counter was full of chopped vegetables and a cutting board. Kagome's mother lay her knife down upon the board and patted her apron, smiling a little nervously at the inu hanyou.

"This is a surprise. Kagome isn't here at the moment..."

"I wasn't looking for her." InuYasha thought furiously about what would not sound so embarrassing. What could he say that would make it look like he didn't need help?

"Kagome....Kagome became a year older not too long ago."

"Oh! Yes-yes I suppose that's true. We had a small party with several of her friends..."

"Sango is planning a surprise celebration for when she comes back."

"Sango...?" Kagome's mother thought about that name for a moment, "Oh yes! The other female in your group correct? That's a wonderful thing to do InuYasha. Are you helping?"

"I- I'm getting her a present."

"That's lovely!"

InuYasha shifted nervously, trying to hide his agitation by standing as still as possible. He rubbed the back of his head and looked down to the ground, a tinge of red on his cheeks. Kagome's mother smiled knowingly and walked over to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair for herself. She nodded to the hanyou encouragingly.

"Sit down InuYasha. Did you want help in picking out a present for Kagome?"

"Yeah...Higurashi-san?" He did not know what to call Kagome's mother.

"Just `Natsuko' please. I won't force you to be so formal. Goodness knows how many times Kagome has come back complaining of your lack of manners!"

"Oh...."

[Perhaps she does hate me.]

Natsuko seemed to realize her mistake as she blushed quickly and held a hand to her mouth, "I didn't mean it like that! Gomen nasai InuYasha, Kagome cares very much for you all. Don't think she dislikes you because of a little complaining. It's all in good fun, ne?"

"...Hai."

"Now then," Her crisp blue grey eyes, the ones that made her look so much like Kagome, smiled up at his, "What did you have in mind?"

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"Do you like that?" Meryl smiled kindly down at the little child, a brown paper bag in her hands. She had been buying more donuts for Vash, the stupid git. He just couldn't go get them himself, he HAD to go meet more of the youkai. It looked as if he had found a whole race of kin, people to relate to him as never before.

[He looks happy.]

"Uhuh! Arigato, Meryl-sama!" The little girl grinned up at her with wide amber eyes. Her hair was a ink black, done up in a small ponytail. Her ears were pointed, and she bore two shiny fangs in her mouth. Her skin was a smooth pale cream, marked with a dark crescent sitting upon its side on her forehead. Three thin red lines streaked across each cheek, currently shoved full of warm donut.

Meryl knelt down to look the girl in the eye, "Why were you crying Haruko-chan?"

She had met the little one only ten minutes ago, having encountered the sweet child on her way back to Mike's place. Haruko had been crying, large crocodile tears running down small cheeks. She had been sitting on a bench, no one nearby to notice her sadness. Meryl had tried to cheer her up, handing her one of Vash's two dozen honey glazed donuts. The girl smiled immediately, the thought of sweets overpowering her previous melancholy.

"My mama got lost."

"Oh?" The insurance girl knew what this meant. Haruko must have wandered from her parents.

"Uhuh. Kaasan and me were shopping for Tousan's birthday! But she got lost..."

"I see," Meryl did all she could not to laugh at the little girl's point of view, "And how old will your tousan be?"

"He'll be seventy hundred and thirty three years old this Friday!"

Meryl was trying to distract the little girl for a little while longer when another woman showed up, her eyes frantic.

"Haruko! Haruko-chan, there you are!"

Her eyes were a dark grey, her hair as black as the little girl's. She had a kind face, full of worry at the moment. Her body was lithe, graceful as she swooped down like a mother hen upon her lost babe. Haruko screamed in delight and clutched onto her kaasan, laughing.

"I was trying to see where she lived. I don't really know my way around here..."

"Oh, you must be the newcomers! You really created a fuss yesterday." The woman smiled and she held her daughter's hand tightly, "My name is Rin."

"Just...Rin?"

Rin smiled, "Yep. My husband and I have been alive since the Sengoku Jidai. Back then, last names weren't really that important. We've just never acquired one, even as we grew along with the times."

"But...you look so young!" Meryl peered into Rin's face, "Are you a mortal? Haruko looks like a youkai to me...."

"Oh yes, I'm mortal. But I have a youkai mate you see, Haruko here is a hanyou."

"I see. Haruko did say that her father would be turning seven hundred and thirty three years old this Friday..."

All of a sudden, there was a blur rushing past her. She couldn't feel a thing, only knew that something large was happening too quickly. As if in slow motion, she willed her body to turn around to face someone running in the shadows.

"MERYL!"

[Vash?]

The typhoon was running to her. It looked as if he had been chasing the girl. His red coat had several rips on the shoulder, as if Vash had just barely missed out on death. His normally sleek, trimmed blonde locks were ruffled, a look of determination upon the Plant's face.

"Vash...what?"

"Get DOWN!"

Meryl pulled Rin down with her, allowing the woman to shield her child from the upcoming shots. Vash had his trusty gun out, his eye aiming for the assassin's right. He had been trying to get him to fall back, to stop running. All he could see of the man were the white and red colors of his outfit. The assassin would run around him in circles, attacking him from unknown places. He was really out there, trying to get Vash to trip up. It was all the blonde could do to dodge the attacks.

What was weird, was the fact that the weapon in use was a bow and arrow, not the traditional gun. He had felt the arrow first time around, as the feathers whistled by his ear, and he blinked for a second. That had been a while ago and now he knew the cost of not paying attention. He had almost gotten his neck that time.

"Shit!"

It was obvious that one of his bullets had hit the guy. By the way the form hunched over from inside of the dust cloud, Vash could see the man trying to get up. He winced in guilt and rushed over to help the poor guy, thinking almost vaguely in his mind that the form of the assassin was a little small for a male....

"Holy..."

"Vash! Vash! What was that?!" Meryl ran up to the man in shock, her bag still clutched against her chest.

The cloud blew away and the assassin attempted to get up from_her_slumped position. She looked up at Vash with emotionless eyes They were a deep blue grey, swirling like a fierce storm. The way she crouched led him to believe that she was a cat, her figure was so flexible. There was a blood splotch upon one long billowing sleeve, the red tainting pure white. She grasped her arm, with her bow slung over her shoulder and stared up at him with a cold gaze.

It was as if she were a robot.

"Vash?"

"I-I..."

He didn't know what to say, letting Time stand still for this one moment. When he saw her face, he couldn't help but feel sadness and pain. As if the girl could do nothing more than express her hurt from every fiber within her being. She looked so young...

"Miss? Are you quite all right?" The woman Meryl had been talking to was running up to the scene.

Vash noticed out of the corner of his eye, the young girl slowly stealing away into the shadows. Not wanting to worry Meryl, he followed her silently. Determined to find out who she was, he watched as she stumbled in her pain and moved on, using the darkness of corners as a disguise. She was like a ninja, gracefully selecting the perfect way to disappear.

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[That did not go well.]

Her eyes fogged up in red. She could feel the bullet wound stinging her flesh, and she could still hear voices in her head.

[Miss? Are you quite all right?]

They cared for each other. They did not care about her.

She hurt so...so...much...

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"Well, how about a necklace? Females love jewelry, I'm sure Kagome will appreciate it if it's something you give her from your heart."

"A...necklace?"

Natsuko nodded, "Hai. A locket of some sort. Wait here...."

She left him to his thoughts. Would Kagome think this too intimate? Were they nothing more than good friends? InuYasha didn't want to believe that he lo-liked her in that way. She `sat' him too many times to count, they were always arguing, she was slow, and stupid...

[She has the most beautiful scent...]

He blushed, ears pricking up to the sound of Natsuko returning. The woman bustled in with a small, black velvet box. His nose twitched, it wasn't something to eat. It smelled old, something that was very precious.

"This has been passed down for generations to the next female in each family," Natsuko gently placed her treasure down upon the wooden table, "It's high time I give it to Kagome anyways. This way, you won't have to buy anything. I'm sure you have no money."

"No...what?"

"Exactly."

InuYasha gently pried the box open with his clawed fingers. Among a white satin cushion lay a simple golden locket, the patterns curling over the sides like little tiny waves of an ocean. He examined the clasp, revealing two empty slots inside.

"You're supposed to put pictures in there. But I have a better idea..." Kagome's mother held out her hand so that InuYasha could hand her the necklace.

"I paint as a hobby, some of our family's income comes from me selling my work to an art dealer nearby. I suggest you let me paint portraits of yourself and my daughter. One for each side. Consider it my blessing for you two."

"For...For...us?" InuYasha blushed once more, "You've got it all wrong. I-I'm not...."

Natsuko smiled knowingly yet again. She placed the locket back into its box, snapped the top shut.

"Not what, InuYasha?"

"......."

"Come back tomorrow. I'll have the portraits done by then."

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"What do you think you're doing?"

"Wa!"

Vash stumbled back as he felt someone grab roughly onto the back of his coat. He turned around to face the angry insurance girl, a sheepish smiled upon his face. He was currently behind a sandy rock, having been about to go down the entrance that the assassin had uncovered.

"Why are you out here, so far from the town?"

The two peered out over the rock and Meryl looked at her companion suspiciously.

"That girl...she went this way..."

"What, down there?"

The sun was about to set, brilliant hues of purple and gold lit the sky. It would have been a gorgeous sight to behold had Vash not had other things occupying his mind. He shifted slowly towards the entrance, taking the stairway one step at a time. He could feel Meryl's presence behind him, sticking close by. Her scent comforted him, to know that she was safely protected. They entered a dark passageway, stealing behind boulders built within the complex as they came across more and more youkai. How many were down here?

[What is this?]

They passed by several rooms, Vash trying to locate the trail of fresh blood spots on the cement floor. They grew larger by the minute, closer together. It wasn't long until the pair reached the doorway in which the blood spots stopped at. They hid quickly from another youkai hurrying in with a leather whip, frayed from overuse.

And soon, they heard an angry voice.

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He felt himself waking up before he opened his eyes. The locket was pressed into the palm of his hand, and the view of the sunset indicated that another day had passed while he lay there upon his bedroll. A day had passed while he had been talking with the miko.

[Do not worry so much.]

Bah. How could he not worry? She would die, not matter what kind of terms she used to describe it. The fact was, there would never be a time when they would meet again.

It's not like he fell in love with her or anything.

He couldn't feel kindness. For so long he only felt bitterness and hatred towards the damn spiders, he knew that his heart could not change so quickly. Not even his brother had managed to soften the edges around his heart. It was impossible, to even THINK that he felt something for the miko he had met for one day only.

[But when I know that she will be no more, I feel pain.]

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[It's so sad.]

The girl was being beaten. Her arm still flowed with blood from the bullet. Bruises surrounded the wound. And more blood.

"Stupid girl. You couldn't touch a single mortal."

The obvious leader watched with enjoyment as his helpers lashed out at the girl. She lay there, nude with the blood of her body flowing out in a stream. She did not cry out, only lay there silently with closed eyes and a frightened expression. Her mouth flinched with every stroke of the whip, every caress of leather.

"You are worthless. Pets are supposed to be loyal, to do anything the master asks for."

[Why is it so sad?]

Meryl watched with horror as she saw the girl dragged to her knees by her hair. One of the older youkai held her up by those long black locks until he could see her face to face. He slapped her, leaving a dark red mark on her once flawless cheek. Her once white body spilled over with cuts, lashes, blood.

[Kami-sama, it's sad.]

She could not help but wipe away the warm tear spilling over her eye. Her vision grew blurry, as if she could not face the reality in front of her and was hiding behind a mask of tears. She felt her head grow hot with pain, her heart was sick with distress. She clutched onto the back of Vash's coat, in fear of dying from the hurt.

The girl had such a prideful, sorrowful expression. She looked up into the dark metal ceiling, as if waiting for her dark winged angel of death to come and take her away from this hell. She did not make a sound, only stared with a lost gaze at where the sky was supposed to be. She was supposed to be out there, out there playing with friends and family.

[This is so wrong.]

[Why is it so wrong?]

[Kami-sama...so wrong.]

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A/N: Whatcha all think? In all honesty, I didn't even THINK of making Knives have some sort of attraction towards Kikyou. Really, I didn't. But for some reason, I had this revelation as I began typing more stuff about Knives. And then he just suddenly got whisked off to meet Kikyou. And the two just seemed to connect!

I'm such a dork.

Oh, I've done a rough outline for the entire story. I'd say that "Miko" will be fifteen chapters, give or take a few. Twists may be added, facts may be tweaked. So nothing is concrete unless it's already posted onto ff.net. But expect "Miko" to run for about that long! So given that chapter six has just ended, that means the story is almost halfway over! Wow.

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JAPANESE DICTIONARY

-San - Suffix used for respect.

-Chan - Suffix used for someone you're familiar with, or someone younger than you.

-Sama - Suffix used for someone you greatly respect or admire

Hanyou - Half Demon

Houshi - Monk

Miko - Priestess

Youkai - Demon

Natsuko - `Natsu' means `Summer'. So `Natsuko' is kind of like `Summer child'. The `-ko' at the end is a common ending for a female's name.

Gomen Nasai - I'm Sorry

Ne - Right? Or something along those lines.

Hai - Yes.

Haruko - `Haru' means `Spring'. Adding the `-ko' at the end makes it a female name or something along the lines of `Spring child'.

Kaasan - Mother

Tousan - Father

Kami-sama - God

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