InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Beautiful Death ❯ Unexpected Outcome ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: kaliannameyron 
And the morning after brings....
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Supernatural / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.13.2005 | Updated On: 05.13.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress
And the morning after brings....
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Supernatural / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.13.2005 | Updated On: 05.13.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Work In Progress
Note: If you didn't catch it on Chapter One, this piece makes a lot more sense if you read my "An Interesting Story" (and "Who Am I?" which will be posted as soon as my roommate finishes proofreading). Sorry for any confusion. I have many reasons for doing things the way that I have, most of which probably aren't going to make any sense to anybody but me. Someday I'll try to explain it to you.
As always...
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. I don't want to own Inuyasha. I don't make any money. Period.
This is, to the best of my knowledge, an original work of fiction using characters stolen from Takahashi Rumiko. I may steal from other published authors from time to time, and I will give credit when I do. I will NOT purposely steal from other fanauthors without their express permission. If you have written something like this, and feel I have wronged you, please contact me. I want to give credit where it's due.
----------That said...----------
Chapter Two -- Unexpected Outcome
Kagome shook her head as she awoke. Inuyasha’s arm was firmly planted around her waist, and it took a moment to remember exactly what she had done the night before. She marveled that he still slept, in spite of the noise. Kaede and the others were back, and she was not surprised to hear a light slap followed by Sango’s voice.
“Hentai!” It seemed Miroku would never learn. Five years, and nearly everyday, he’d grab her behind. Kagome knew that the two were in love, but perhaps it was best that they hid their feelings as long as Naraku was still a threat. Over time, however, Sango had grown tolerate and even amused by his gropings. Her once shrill cry had long since been replaced by a giggling reprimand.
Kagome carefully lifted Inuyasha’s arm off her, then turned to look at her mate. Seeing him sleep was such a rare thing, she couldn’t resist the urge to spy. He looked so peaceful, so serene, so completely unlike the Inuyasha she knew and loved. Her Inuyasha was impetuous, loud, even obnoxious and violent.
Violent. She supposed that was part of her attraction for him. The cliché of the good girl and the bad boy was not lost on her. She had, after all, just given her virginity to a hanyou, a killer.
‘But then, I’m a killer, too, aren’t I? How many youkai have died by my arrows? I’m no different. And yet, they still say I’m a pure soul....’
She was pulled abruptly out of her reverie when she realized something was wrong. There was a mass of blonde hair on her pillow, and not a bit of her own black hair. She touched her hand to the top of her head and found furry little dog ears there. A glance at her hands revealed claws, just like her mate’s.
‘What in the Seven Hells?’ Quietly slipping out from underneath her covers, she reached for the discarded mirror from the night before. Sure enough, her hair had turned golden blonde overnight. Her eyes shone a metallic silver, and she now possessed the same dog ears she so loved on Inuyasha. Her canine teeth had elongating into short fangs.
‘I’m a hanyou.’ Kagome’s head was spinning. How had it happened? Why? What about her miko’s gifts? She licked her lips nervously as she began to dress. The coppery tang of blood registered on her taste buds.
‘I took his blood. A demon’s blood. You fool!’ She stared down at her mate, wondering if he had known it would happen. There was no sense in blaming him, though. It was pure luck that she remembered her own name after the night’s events.
She finished pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt as she mulled over her current situation. ‘I’m a miko. I’m a hanyou. I’m going to lose my fucking mind.’ She pictured the reactions of the people she knew, from her companions not thirty feet away, all the way to her family hundreds of years in the future.
Showing her face back home in her current state would be interesting at best. Her grandfather would undoubtedly attempt to bind her with those unsuccessful little spell scrolls of his. Her mother... Only gods knew what her mother’s reaction would be. Souta would be thrilled, of course. The only thing better than knowing one half-demon would be actually having one in his family.
She needed to talk to someone, anyone who might know more about this than she did. Her friends, normally so helpful, would probably be of little use in her situation. If they had known that tasting his blood would transform her, they wouldn’t know anything she could do. And explaining just how she came to taste that blood would be more than a little awkward. The thought of telling Kaede and Shippou made her picture having to explain it to Souta and her grandfather. She doubted she could face Sango and Miroku after what Inuyasha had told her. Picturing Sango pinned to a wall... No, not a comforting sight.
‘I’d kill for a sister right about now.’
A sister. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The only person on the whole planet that was as close as a sister was merely miles away. Kikyou might know more, and she would help in any way she could. They’d grown so close since the first completion of the Shikon Jewel.
Kagome grabbed her own Firerat cloak, a birthday present from two years before, and her half of the Shikon Jewel, then slipped out the window. To her amusement, Inuyasha never stirred. Either she had worn him out the night before, or he hadn’t slept in days. Maybe both.
Her feet carried her through the woods towards Kikyou’s shrine. ‘I think I’m even faster than Inuyasha now,’ she mused as she leapt experimentally. As she flew through the air, she suddenly wished she was riding piggyback on her mate’s back, rather than traveling alone. Her heart threatened to break, her current situation was just too much.
In almost no time, she was at the edge of Kikyou’s village. She pulled the hood of her cloak down low and walked through, trying to draw as little attention as possible. The villagers knew her as a human. Sure, she wore strange clothes, but she was still human. If they were to see their Lady Kikyou’s young friend as a hanyou, it would cause quite a stir.
A little girl greeted her at the steps of the shrine. “May I help you?” The child was eight at best. She wore a yellow kimono, and had tiny blue flowers laced in her hair. Kagome knew the girl could tell she was a hanyou, but amazingly, the child showed no fear.
“What is your name, child?” Kagome was startled to hear the anxiety, even fear, in her own voice.
“I am Chikako, Lady Kikyou’s assistant.”
“Well, Chikako, I’m Kagome, a friend of Lady Kikyou’s. Is she here?”
Chikako nodded. “She is. But... You’re a hanyou.”
“I was just a miko a few hours ago, but something has happened. May I please see your mistress?”
Chikako bowed a bit and stepped aside. Kagome slipped off her shoes and walked into the shrine, well aware that the girl was following her. The building was open and airy, very beautiful.
Kikyou was sitting in front of a fire with her back turned, the light giving her an eerie glow. Her head tilted to one side, and she reached for her bow.
“Demon... I do not know what you are doing here, but...” She turned, readying an arrow. “If you know what is best, you will be leaving now.”
Kagome tossed back her hood, staring into Kikyou’s eyes. “I have no idea what’s best for me today, Kikyou. Please say you still know me.”
Kikyou dropped the bow and arrow, and rushed forward. “Kagome! What happened to you?” She reached out to touch her friend’s face, almost as if she didn’t believe it was true. Tears were welling up in Kagome’s eyes, her careful self-control threatening to snap. She desperately wanted to collapse, to sit and cry in the safety of the shrine.
“She really is a friend of yours, Lady Kagome?” Chikako’s small voice broke the silence, startling both women.
“Yes, Little One, she is. We fought many demons together, once. And we will fight more, someday.”
“Why is she a hanyou, now? She said she was a miko until today.”
“That is true.” Kikyou looked into Kagome’s eyes. “What happened? Tell me everything.”
Kagome blushed a little. “I’m not sure it would be wise for your assistant to hear all the details. Inuyasha and I... we...”
“You became his mate.” Kikyou’s voice was barely a whisper. She had both hoped and feared this day would come. Thrilled that Inuyasha had been able to love again, and hurt that she hadn’t been the one to become his mate, she sank to her knees in front of Kagome. Chikako rushed forward, afraid that her mistress was injured in some way.
“Lady Kikyou, are you okay?” Chikako could see tears in Kikyou’s eyes, and didn’t understand what it meant.
“I am fine, Little One. Please, leave us.”
Chikako hesitated, then bowed a little and turned to leave. Kagome knelt beside Kikyou, more than a little concerned.
“Kikyou...” she began, but her words were cut off by the other woman’s raised hand.
“Tell me everything. I need to know, Kagome.”
Kagome took a deep breath. “Well... We mated. That’s all the detail you’ll get about that. But... I lost control of myself, and I bit him. I drew blood, and... I’m sorry, Kikyou, I feel like I’ve betrayed you.”
“I can never have him, but you... I... I have gained a new soul of sorts, bits and pieces from all those I had to use to stay in this world. You know this. I have regained the ability to love. And I will always love him, but his destiny lies with you. I accept it. Do not feel any remorse for me.”
“Thank you.”
The two women sat in silence on the floor for several minutes, neither quite sure what to say. It was Kikyou who finally broke the silence.
“What about your powers? Can you still sense the Jewel shards?”
Kagome absently touched her neck. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now. I don’t know what to do, don’t know what to think... Kikyou, I... I’m scared.” The tears came again, and this time, she didn’t try to hold them back. Sobs wracked her small frame, and Kikyou scooted closer to pull her reincarnation in for a tight hug. Kagome let her head fall against Kikyou’s shoulder, and just cried.
---------------
“Kagome?” Shippou gently pulled back the paper screen to Kagome’s room and peered in. He immediately jumped back at the sight of Inuyasha lying in the room. Three full seconds later, he screamed at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of his friends, and waking the sleeping hanyou. Then, the poor little kitsune hopped into the room, pounding Inuyasha about the head and shoulders.
“What did you do to her? Where’s Kagome? What’s happened?” His questions continued even as he was flung back out of the room by a sleepy, and now confused, Inuyasha.
Sango and Miroku had arrived on the scene, and the demon huntress was next to poke her head in. “Inuyasha? Um, forgive me for sounding like Shippou, but... What are you doing in here?” Inuyasha glared up at her, pulling on his pants beneath the blankets. “Never mind.”
Miroku chuckled, both at Inuyasha’s predicament and Sango’s embarrassment. “So I take it things went well.”
“Shut it, monk.” Inuyasha’s voice was very nearly a growl. “Where is she?”
Miroku shrugged. “Shouldn’t you know?”
Shippou had made his way back into the room. “Yeah! Shouldn’t you know? You spent the night in her room, after all!”
Inuyasha’s nose twitched. “It smells funny in here.” Sango and Miroku exchanged glances; to them, it only smelled like sex. “It smells like Kagome, and... not-Kagome. It smells like... another demon.” He jumped to his feet and began throwing on his clothes.
“You mean to tell me that you slept right through Kagome getting kidnapped by somebody?” Shippou was yelling again, but Inuyasha didn’t seem to notice. He snatched up Tetsusaiga and leapt out of the open window, Shippou close behind.
Sango again looked to Miroku. “Shall we?”
“Sango, what’s missing from this room?”
“Besides her clothes and her cloak? Nothing. Even the jewel shards are here,” she said, bending to pick up the small gem. She didn’t notice Miroku craning his neck to get a better view of her backside. “What do you think?”
“I have no idea. You’re right, though, we should probably follow him.”
---------------
Several minutes later, Kagome had gathered her composure. “Say, we should probably try to find out just exactly what has changed for me. Would you mind helping me out?”
“I am honored. Come with me, we shall find out.” Kikyou stood, extending a hand to help Kagome to her feet. They walked out of the building, and Kikyou approached her assistant. “Little One, Kagome and I are going out to the woods for a bit. We need to find out if she has lost any of her powers as a miko. Would you like to come along?”
Chikako’s eyes grew wide. “Can I?”
Kikyou laughed heartily. “I would not have asked if I did not mean it!”
Kagome watched the pair, amused. Kikyou was much the same around Shippou and Rin. She’d become very motherly of late, and Kagome felt it was a shame that she had no children.
The three set out into the forest, towards a nest of demons that had been plaguing the village for some time. There was very little conversation as they walked. Kagome was contemplating her fate, and Kikyou sensed this and let her friend have time to think. Chikako, too, managed to keep quiet; not because she sensed that Kagome need the silence -- although she did -- but because she wanted to show how mature she could be.
“I can still sense them, but I’m not sure if it’s because I smell them, or not,” Kagome said as they approached.
Kikyou stopped in her tracks, handing Kagome her bow and a quiver of arrows. “You go on, fight as many as you can. We shall be here if you need us.”
Kagome took the weapon and nodded, then turned to continue towards the cave that held her target. There were dozens of them, minor serpent demons. She moved as close as she dared and readied an arrow. Aiming carefully at what appeared to be the queen, she let fly.
The cave exploded in pastel light, and when the air cleared, the queen was gone. Her children rushed Kagome, screeching in anger. Kagome dropped the bow and lunged at them with her claws, acting purely on instinct. The ground was soon red with blood, the air filled with shrieks of pain.
Kikyou and Chikako had crept close enough to watch. They were amazed at Kagome’s skill; she now moved like Inuyasha. Her miko’s gifts remained, however, and pushed several of the demons back with the force of her will. It was all over in minutes, and Kagome emerged, unscathed.
“Do I pass?” she asked with a grin.
“You pass. Nothing has changed for you, has it?”
“Not a thing. I fire the same arrows, seem to do everything I used to... Only now I have claws as well.” She wrinkled her nose. “And they smell worse, if that’s possible.”
Chikako giggled. “I like you, miko-hanyou. You’re funny.”
Kagome shook her head at the new title, which she knew would stick. The three started to make their way back to Kikyou’s shrine. “How old are you, Chikako?”
“I’m seven! I’m waiting for this year’s Shichi-Go-San Festival!”
“I bet you are! I remember when I was seven, and I felt so important in the fancy kimono I wore. I hope the Gods grant you good luck.”
The child giggled again. “I think seeing you is the luckiest thing ever! I didn’t know a person could be miko and hanyou!”
“Neither did I, kiddo, neither did I...”
Kikyou watched with the same amusement that Kagome had possessed a half hour before. She hoped that one day she would be able to watch her reincarnation interact with children of her own.
“So, Kagome, will you be returning to your mate now?”
“That was the plan. I... left without saying goodbye this morning. He’s probably very worried by now... And I imagine my scent has changed. He may or may not have followed this time.”
“Do you mind if I come along? It has been some time since I saw everyone. How is Shippou?”
Kagome grinned. “Shippou is fine. Kaede took everyone with her to get some rare herbs, they all just got back. Sometimes I think that sister of yours has been in league with Sango, trying to get Inuyasha and I together.”
“I would never doubt it. Kaede always had a sense for matchmaking, even when she was just a child.”
“What about me, Lady Kikyou? Can I come, too?” Chikako’s small voice broke into the conversation, and she looked hopefully from Kikyou to Kagome and back again.
“Now, Little One, if we both go, who will tend to the shrine? I think it is better if you stay and look after things.”
The girl beamed. This was an honor greater than any other. Kikyou had entrusted her with the daily maintenance of the shrine. It could only mean that the miko trusted her assistant completely. She could not speak in her excitement, but nodded vigorously instead.
A few minutes later, they arrived back at Kikyou’s shrine, where Kagome pulled her hood back up over her head. Chikako took up her post at the top of the stairs. She waved goodbye to Kikyou and Kagome until they were out of sight, and then ran to tell her friends about the strange miko-hanyou.
“So what’s Chikako’s story?” Kagome asked as they were walking through the village.
“Her mother died in childbirth. Her father tried to raise her by herself, but suggested to me one day that she needed a woman’s touch.” Kikyou smiled at the memory. “She was, and is, a precocious child, but she’s something of a tomboy. I think life at the shrine suits her well. She was a bit spoiled, so her chores have taught her a great deal of responsibility, and I give her plenty of time to be a little girl.”
“Is she... Does she have any gifts?”
“They are manifesting slowly. She can sense demons, and human emotion. She is quite talented with a staff, and she will probably begin training with a naginata as soon as she is old enough. That reminds me, we need to stop off at the blacksmith’s.”
“What for?”
Kikyou grinned. “You’ll see.”
The blacksmith’s shop was only a few hundred feet away, and the man looked up from his anvil with a smile.
“Lady Kikyou! Have you come to pick up your naginata?”
“Indeed. I trust the trade we agreed upon is still acceptable?”
“Enough food to feed my family for a year? More than acceptable! You are too generous, Lady Kikyou.” He turned from the two women, moving to retrieve a fine naginata from a rack on the wall. “Here you are.”
“Thank you. Say hello to your wife for me, and tell her that if she needs any herbs while I am gone, that my assistant can help her at the shrine.”
Kikyou then turned to Kagome, and presented her with the weapon. “For you. I thought that since you learned to use one, that you should have one of your own.”
Kagome accepted the gift graciously. “It’s beautiful, Kikyou. Thank you so very much.”
“It is nothing. Come, we should be going. We want to get back before nightfall.”
---------------
A young man watched the two as they left the village. ‘Who is that with Kikyou? Master will want to hear of this...’ Neither woman noticed him as he disappeared into the forest and took off towards the hidden cave in the north where his master was waiting.
----------Chapter End----------
Second Note: Yeah. As if you could call that a cliffhanger. Sorry this chapter was so short compared the first. Apparently, I only have a lot to say if somebody's getting laid. This was a bit rushed, and will probably be going through a lot of updates. Please be patient with me, and thanks again for all those of you who took the time to comment.
As always...
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. I don't want to own Inuyasha. I don't make any money. Period.
This is, to the best of my knowledge, an original work of fiction using characters stolen from Takahashi Rumiko. I may steal from other published authors from time to time, and I will give credit when I do. I will NOT purposely steal from other fanauthors without their express permission. If you have written something like this, and feel I have wronged you, please contact me. I want to give credit where it's due.
----------That said...----------
Chapter Two -- Unexpected Outcome
Kagome shook her head as she awoke. Inuyasha’s arm was firmly planted around her waist, and it took a moment to remember exactly what she had done the night before. She marveled that he still slept, in spite of the noise. Kaede and the others were back, and she was not surprised to hear a light slap followed by Sango’s voice.
“Hentai!” It seemed Miroku would never learn. Five years, and nearly everyday, he’d grab her behind. Kagome knew that the two were in love, but perhaps it was best that they hid their feelings as long as Naraku was still a threat. Over time, however, Sango had grown tolerate and even amused by his gropings. Her once shrill cry had long since been replaced by a giggling reprimand.
Kagome carefully lifted Inuyasha’s arm off her, then turned to look at her mate. Seeing him sleep was such a rare thing, she couldn’t resist the urge to spy. He looked so peaceful, so serene, so completely unlike the Inuyasha she knew and loved. Her Inuyasha was impetuous, loud, even obnoxious and violent.
Violent. She supposed that was part of her attraction for him. The cliché of the good girl and the bad boy was not lost on her. She had, after all, just given her virginity to a hanyou, a killer.
‘But then, I’m a killer, too, aren’t I? How many youkai have died by my arrows? I’m no different. And yet, they still say I’m a pure soul....’
She was pulled abruptly out of her reverie when she realized something was wrong. There was a mass of blonde hair on her pillow, and not a bit of her own black hair. She touched her hand to the top of her head and found furry little dog ears there. A glance at her hands revealed claws, just like her mate’s.
‘What in the Seven Hells?’ Quietly slipping out from underneath her covers, she reached for the discarded mirror from the night before. Sure enough, her hair had turned golden blonde overnight. Her eyes shone a metallic silver, and she now possessed the same dog ears she so loved on Inuyasha. Her canine teeth had elongating into short fangs.
‘I’m a hanyou.’ Kagome’s head was spinning. How had it happened? Why? What about her miko’s gifts? She licked her lips nervously as she began to dress. The coppery tang of blood registered on her taste buds.
‘I took his blood. A demon’s blood. You fool!’ She stared down at her mate, wondering if he had known it would happen. There was no sense in blaming him, though. It was pure luck that she remembered her own name after the night’s events.
She finished pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt as she mulled over her current situation. ‘I’m a miko. I’m a hanyou. I’m going to lose my fucking mind.’ She pictured the reactions of the people she knew, from her companions not thirty feet away, all the way to her family hundreds of years in the future.
Showing her face back home in her current state would be interesting at best. Her grandfather would undoubtedly attempt to bind her with those unsuccessful little spell scrolls of his. Her mother... Only gods knew what her mother’s reaction would be. Souta would be thrilled, of course. The only thing better than knowing one half-demon would be actually having one in his family.
She needed to talk to someone, anyone who might know more about this than she did. Her friends, normally so helpful, would probably be of little use in her situation. If they had known that tasting his blood would transform her, they wouldn’t know anything she could do. And explaining just how she came to taste that blood would be more than a little awkward. The thought of telling Kaede and Shippou made her picture having to explain it to Souta and her grandfather. She doubted she could face Sango and Miroku after what Inuyasha had told her. Picturing Sango pinned to a wall... No, not a comforting sight.
‘I’d kill for a sister right about now.’
A sister. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The only person on the whole planet that was as close as a sister was merely miles away. Kikyou might know more, and she would help in any way she could. They’d grown so close since the first completion of the Shikon Jewel.
Kagome grabbed her own Firerat cloak, a birthday present from two years before, and her half of the Shikon Jewel, then slipped out the window. To her amusement, Inuyasha never stirred. Either she had worn him out the night before, or he hadn’t slept in days. Maybe both.
Her feet carried her through the woods towards Kikyou’s shrine. ‘I think I’m even faster than Inuyasha now,’ she mused as she leapt experimentally. As she flew through the air, she suddenly wished she was riding piggyback on her mate’s back, rather than traveling alone. Her heart threatened to break, her current situation was just too much.
In almost no time, she was at the edge of Kikyou’s village. She pulled the hood of her cloak down low and walked through, trying to draw as little attention as possible. The villagers knew her as a human. Sure, she wore strange clothes, but she was still human. If they were to see their Lady Kikyou’s young friend as a hanyou, it would cause quite a stir.
A little girl greeted her at the steps of the shrine. “May I help you?” The child was eight at best. She wore a yellow kimono, and had tiny blue flowers laced in her hair. Kagome knew the girl could tell she was a hanyou, but amazingly, the child showed no fear.
“What is your name, child?” Kagome was startled to hear the anxiety, even fear, in her own voice.
“I am Chikako, Lady Kikyou’s assistant.”
“Well, Chikako, I’m Kagome, a friend of Lady Kikyou’s. Is she here?”
Chikako nodded. “She is. But... You’re a hanyou.”
“I was just a miko a few hours ago, but something has happened. May I please see your mistress?”
Chikako bowed a bit and stepped aside. Kagome slipped off her shoes and walked into the shrine, well aware that the girl was following her. The building was open and airy, very beautiful.
Kikyou was sitting in front of a fire with her back turned, the light giving her an eerie glow. Her head tilted to one side, and she reached for her bow.
“Demon... I do not know what you are doing here, but...” She turned, readying an arrow. “If you know what is best, you will be leaving now.”
Kagome tossed back her hood, staring into Kikyou’s eyes. “I have no idea what’s best for me today, Kikyou. Please say you still know me.”
Kikyou dropped the bow and arrow, and rushed forward. “Kagome! What happened to you?” She reached out to touch her friend’s face, almost as if she didn’t believe it was true. Tears were welling up in Kagome’s eyes, her careful self-control threatening to snap. She desperately wanted to collapse, to sit and cry in the safety of the shrine.
“She really is a friend of yours, Lady Kagome?” Chikako’s small voice broke the silence, startling both women.
“Yes, Little One, she is. We fought many demons together, once. And we will fight more, someday.”
“Why is she a hanyou, now? She said she was a miko until today.”
“That is true.” Kikyou looked into Kagome’s eyes. “What happened? Tell me everything.”
Kagome blushed a little. “I’m not sure it would be wise for your assistant to hear all the details. Inuyasha and I... we...”
“You became his mate.” Kikyou’s voice was barely a whisper. She had both hoped and feared this day would come. Thrilled that Inuyasha had been able to love again, and hurt that she hadn’t been the one to become his mate, she sank to her knees in front of Kagome. Chikako rushed forward, afraid that her mistress was injured in some way.
“Lady Kikyou, are you okay?” Chikako could see tears in Kikyou’s eyes, and didn’t understand what it meant.
“I am fine, Little One. Please, leave us.”
Chikako hesitated, then bowed a little and turned to leave. Kagome knelt beside Kikyou, more than a little concerned.
“Kikyou...” she began, but her words were cut off by the other woman’s raised hand.
“Tell me everything. I need to know, Kagome.”
Kagome took a deep breath. “Well... We mated. That’s all the detail you’ll get about that. But... I lost control of myself, and I bit him. I drew blood, and... I’m sorry, Kikyou, I feel like I’ve betrayed you.”
“I can never have him, but you... I... I have gained a new soul of sorts, bits and pieces from all those I had to use to stay in this world. You know this. I have regained the ability to love. And I will always love him, but his destiny lies with you. I accept it. Do not feel any remorse for me.”
“Thank you.”
The two women sat in silence on the floor for several minutes, neither quite sure what to say. It was Kikyou who finally broke the silence.
“What about your powers? Can you still sense the Jewel shards?”
Kagome absently touched her neck. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now. I don’t know what to do, don’t know what to think... Kikyou, I... I’m scared.” The tears came again, and this time, she didn’t try to hold them back. Sobs wracked her small frame, and Kikyou scooted closer to pull her reincarnation in for a tight hug. Kagome let her head fall against Kikyou’s shoulder, and just cried.
---------------
“Kagome?” Shippou gently pulled back the paper screen to Kagome’s room and peered in. He immediately jumped back at the sight of Inuyasha lying in the room. Three full seconds later, he screamed at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of his friends, and waking the sleeping hanyou. Then, the poor little kitsune hopped into the room, pounding Inuyasha about the head and shoulders.
“What did you do to her? Where’s Kagome? What’s happened?” His questions continued even as he was flung back out of the room by a sleepy, and now confused, Inuyasha.
Sango and Miroku had arrived on the scene, and the demon huntress was next to poke her head in. “Inuyasha? Um, forgive me for sounding like Shippou, but... What are you doing in here?” Inuyasha glared up at her, pulling on his pants beneath the blankets. “Never mind.”
Miroku chuckled, both at Inuyasha’s predicament and Sango’s embarrassment. “So I take it things went well.”
“Shut it, monk.” Inuyasha’s voice was very nearly a growl. “Where is she?”
Miroku shrugged. “Shouldn’t you know?”
Shippou had made his way back into the room. “Yeah! Shouldn’t you know? You spent the night in her room, after all!”
Inuyasha’s nose twitched. “It smells funny in here.” Sango and Miroku exchanged glances; to them, it only smelled like sex. “It smells like Kagome, and... not-Kagome. It smells like... another demon.” He jumped to his feet and began throwing on his clothes.
“You mean to tell me that you slept right through Kagome getting kidnapped by somebody?” Shippou was yelling again, but Inuyasha didn’t seem to notice. He snatched up Tetsusaiga and leapt out of the open window, Shippou close behind.
Sango again looked to Miroku. “Shall we?”
“Sango, what’s missing from this room?”
“Besides her clothes and her cloak? Nothing. Even the jewel shards are here,” she said, bending to pick up the small gem. She didn’t notice Miroku craning his neck to get a better view of her backside. “What do you think?”
“I have no idea. You’re right, though, we should probably follow him.”
---------------
Several minutes later, Kagome had gathered her composure. “Say, we should probably try to find out just exactly what has changed for me. Would you mind helping me out?”
“I am honored. Come with me, we shall find out.” Kikyou stood, extending a hand to help Kagome to her feet. They walked out of the building, and Kikyou approached her assistant. “Little One, Kagome and I are going out to the woods for a bit. We need to find out if she has lost any of her powers as a miko. Would you like to come along?”
Chikako’s eyes grew wide. “Can I?”
Kikyou laughed heartily. “I would not have asked if I did not mean it!”
Kagome watched the pair, amused. Kikyou was much the same around Shippou and Rin. She’d become very motherly of late, and Kagome felt it was a shame that she had no children.
The three set out into the forest, towards a nest of demons that had been plaguing the village for some time. There was very little conversation as they walked. Kagome was contemplating her fate, and Kikyou sensed this and let her friend have time to think. Chikako, too, managed to keep quiet; not because she sensed that Kagome need the silence -- although she did -- but because she wanted to show how mature she could be.
“I can still sense them, but I’m not sure if it’s because I smell them, or not,” Kagome said as they approached.
Kikyou stopped in her tracks, handing Kagome her bow and a quiver of arrows. “You go on, fight as many as you can. We shall be here if you need us.”
Kagome took the weapon and nodded, then turned to continue towards the cave that held her target. There were dozens of them, minor serpent demons. She moved as close as she dared and readied an arrow. Aiming carefully at what appeared to be the queen, she let fly.
The cave exploded in pastel light, and when the air cleared, the queen was gone. Her children rushed Kagome, screeching in anger. Kagome dropped the bow and lunged at them with her claws, acting purely on instinct. The ground was soon red with blood, the air filled with shrieks of pain.
Kikyou and Chikako had crept close enough to watch. They were amazed at Kagome’s skill; she now moved like Inuyasha. Her miko’s gifts remained, however, and pushed several of the demons back with the force of her will. It was all over in minutes, and Kagome emerged, unscathed.
“Do I pass?” she asked with a grin.
“You pass. Nothing has changed for you, has it?”
“Not a thing. I fire the same arrows, seem to do everything I used to... Only now I have claws as well.” She wrinkled her nose. “And they smell worse, if that’s possible.”
Chikako giggled. “I like you, miko-hanyou. You’re funny.”
Kagome shook her head at the new title, which she knew would stick. The three started to make their way back to Kikyou’s shrine. “How old are you, Chikako?”
“I’m seven! I’m waiting for this year’s Shichi-Go-San Festival!”
“I bet you are! I remember when I was seven, and I felt so important in the fancy kimono I wore. I hope the Gods grant you good luck.”
The child giggled again. “I think seeing you is the luckiest thing ever! I didn’t know a person could be miko and hanyou!”
“Neither did I, kiddo, neither did I...”
Kikyou watched with the same amusement that Kagome had possessed a half hour before. She hoped that one day she would be able to watch her reincarnation interact with children of her own.
“So, Kagome, will you be returning to your mate now?”
“That was the plan. I... left without saying goodbye this morning. He’s probably very worried by now... And I imagine my scent has changed. He may or may not have followed this time.”
“Do you mind if I come along? It has been some time since I saw everyone. How is Shippou?”
Kagome grinned. “Shippou is fine. Kaede took everyone with her to get some rare herbs, they all just got back. Sometimes I think that sister of yours has been in league with Sango, trying to get Inuyasha and I together.”
“I would never doubt it. Kaede always had a sense for matchmaking, even when she was just a child.”
“What about me, Lady Kikyou? Can I come, too?” Chikako’s small voice broke into the conversation, and she looked hopefully from Kikyou to Kagome and back again.
“Now, Little One, if we both go, who will tend to the shrine? I think it is better if you stay and look after things.”
The girl beamed. This was an honor greater than any other. Kikyou had entrusted her with the daily maintenance of the shrine. It could only mean that the miko trusted her assistant completely. She could not speak in her excitement, but nodded vigorously instead.
A few minutes later, they arrived back at Kikyou’s shrine, where Kagome pulled her hood back up over her head. Chikako took up her post at the top of the stairs. She waved goodbye to Kikyou and Kagome until they were out of sight, and then ran to tell her friends about the strange miko-hanyou.
“So what’s Chikako’s story?” Kagome asked as they were walking through the village.
“Her mother died in childbirth. Her father tried to raise her by herself, but suggested to me one day that she needed a woman’s touch.” Kikyou smiled at the memory. “She was, and is, a precocious child, but she’s something of a tomboy. I think life at the shrine suits her well. She was a bit spoiled, so her chores have taught her a great deal of responsibility, and I give her plenty of time to be a little girl.”
“Is she... Does she have any gifts?”
“They are manifesting slowly. She can sense demons, and human emotion. She is quite talented with a staff, and she will probably begin training with a naginata as soon as she is old enough. That reminds me, we need to stop off at the blacksmith’s.”
“What for?”
Kikyou grinned. “You’ll see.”
The blacksmith’s shop was only a few hundred feet away, and the man looked up from his anvil with a smile.
“Lady Kikyou! Have you come to pick up your naginata?”
“Indeed. I trust the trade we agreed upon is still acceptable?”
“Enough food to feed my family for a year? More than acceptable! You are too generous, Lady Kikyou.” He turned from the two women, moving to retrieve a fine naginata from a rack on the wall. “Here you are.”
“Thank you. Say hello to your wife for me, and tell her that if she needs any herbs while I am gone, that my assistant can help her at the shrine.”
Kikyou then turned to Kagome, and presented her with the weapon. “For you. I thought that since you learned to use one, that you should have one of your own.”
Kagome accepted the gift graciously. “It’s beautiful, Kikyou. Thank you so very much.”
“It is nothing. Come, we should be going. We want to get back before nightfall.”
---------------
A young man watched the two as they left the village. ‘Who is that with Kikyou? Master will want to hear of this...’ Neither woman noticed him as he disappeared into the forest and took off towards the hidden cave in the north where his master was waiting.
----------Chapter End----------
Second Note: Yeah. As if you could call that a cliffhanger. Sorry this chapter was so short compared the first. Apparently, I only have a lot to say if somebody's getting laid. This was a bit rushed, and will probably be going through a lot of updates. Please be patient with me, and thanks again for all those of you who took the time to comment.