InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Cinderella Stroy ❯ People in Love ( Chapter 9 )

Asano had to admit that people in love did strange things. Of course he would never tell anyone Sesshomaru was in love, especially Sesshomaru, but Asano had to admit he rather liked some of the side effects. Here he stood, in the hall of one of the most evil men he'd ever had the displeasure of reading, waiting for a girl with one of the most intriguing souls he'd ever seen. She was light and dark, wrapped in a tiny complicated package that just fascinated him. She entered and knelt and he looked into those dark eyes and felt himself founder. There it was, the twisting of good and evil, of darkness and light. Yet somehow she stood untouched by the storm of her soul. He rose and offered her his hand.

“Please, walk with me, I would love to see your lands.”

He hardly noticed the servant that followed them as they left the manor. The girl turned their steps toward the town as he watched her. She was hiding something, and that made him even more interested. There were few who could keep things from him. They walked through the one of the markets and the servant slipped off on some errand as Yuka strolled, ignoring everything around her. Asano watched her silently for long minutes before speaking.

“I have never met one such as you.”

“Oh?”

“I see great conflict within you, yet you remain…good, decent on some intrinsic level. Few could exist in such a state.”

“I wouldn't know.” They had come to the edge of town and she nodded toward one of the roads. “That way leads to the monastery. Lady Yumi is a kind woman.”

“I am not interested in meeting monks or nuns.” She flushed and looked away. Sensing her unease he touched her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “I am interested in meeting you. Will you sit with me?”

She nodded and he guided her off the road to a small brook where they sat on the grass. He asked her questions, probing her life from her gently. Yuka was careful though. Kagome had made her swear, had begged her even to not let anything slip to him. If Asano truly gained an understanding of her life here, Sesshomaru's wrath would fall upon Yoshi like a mountain. There would be nothing left, not even enough to bother burying.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Kagome walked slowly through the woods until she came to the quiet glade. Spreading her senses, she blanketed the region, looking for anything that might be a danger. Once she was sure that there were no threats she pulled the Shikon no tama from its hiding place and spoke softly into the shadows.

“Please, I know you're there, I must speak with you, I have questions.”

The woman from before appeared and smiled at her. “Of course you do. Sit this may take some time.”

They both sat and Kagome spent a tense moment gathering her thoughts as she plucked at her tattered hem line. At last, once she felt as though she were in control of her own mind she took a deep breath, and spoke.

“First off, I would like to know your name.”

“Midoriko.”

Kagome sucked in her breath. “My great-grandmother was named Midoriko.”

“I suppose I was at that.”

“So…”

“The Shikon no tama is passed through our blood line, but only through the women.” She sighed softly. “We are not ningen, nor youkai, nor kami. What we are is intrinsically different than any creature you might encounter, even Moondancer, though we are more akin to him than any other.”

“So we are…I am a Doom?”

“After a fashion. A Doom is created by the presence of great evil. The Dooms are pure creatures whose sole purpose is to destroy said evil. We are Dooms in that sense and we are not. We live as mortal woman, but we bear an immortal burden.”

“I'm afraid you lost me.”

Midoriko smiled slightly. “Let me start over then. I carried the Shikon no tama all my life. Never once did I use its powers and so it never once was given the opportunity to use me. I existed to protect it and the world from it. You are doing the same thing. The jewel had to pass for a time into the hands of another when I failed to give birth to a girl, but the effects are the same. Now it is your duty, as a Daughter of the Blood. We are born mikos, our powers have always been a part of us, but only the women of our line who have proven themselves warriors can bear the jewel. You did this, and so the jewel was given to you.

“I know your life is not easy and does not look to become easier. I would have rather you lived as a servant, never answering the call to battle. We would have passed the jewel to another, not nearly as capable but still worthy in her own right. Then we would have waited for your daughter or granddaughter. In the end it would be the same, the jewel will remain unused and untainted by the use.”

“So we exist to protect the jewel and the jewel…what does it do?”

“It exists to protect us. It is a strange marriage. Without the other, each would dwindle, become nothing more than a shadow of it's former self. Under the care of others the jewel was weakened, but now…I can feel it pulse with new life even as I feel you grow stronger.”

“I'm not feeding off the jewel, am I?”

“No, you are drawing on your ancient Blood. The power has always been there, but there has never been a reason for you to touch it before.”

She nodded slightly. “I think…not so much that I understand but that I am less confused.”

“I could ask for no more.”

“Why, though, did you make me go to the ball?” She flushed and looked down. “I mean, I'm grateful, but it doesn't seem at all usual.”

Midoriko laughed softly. “Himone, the youkai who gave you the jewel had some small gift of Prophecy. She saw something at the ball, a joining of Fates. I cannot say any more than that because I honestly do not know much more, and I have found that Destiny can take care of itself. Something happened that night that will cause a series of events that will bring either great joy or great suffering to the world.”

“And if you had not sent me, if I had gone on my own?”

She sighed softly. “Yoshi would have beat you to death in front of the youkai Lords, sparking a war between ningen and youkai when it was learned that you were the Guardian of the Shikon no tama. Taiyoukai take that sort of thing very seriously. The Blood is not easily flouted.”

Kagome had paled slightly. “He would have killed me, truly?”

“I think you know the truth of that.”

She nodded and rose slowly, straitening her kimono. “I should go, but I do thank you.”

Midoriko rose as well. “Kagome, let him protect you. Yoshi will kill you in the end. No love is worth that.”

Kagome hung her head, her long midnight tresses falling forward as she lifted her basket and swung away from the ghost of her ancestor. Just before she left the clearing she stopped.

“I don't love him…but he's all I have left of her…”

“Your mother would not have wanted this for you.”

“I know…but I can't leave them. They need someone to take care of them.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Yoshi watched Yuka and Asano return with Kagome in tow. He'd doubted the wisdom of sending the bitch with them, but some semblance at propriety had to be maintained if Asano was to think well of them. She knew to be discrete, more so than any of his other servants, so he allowed it. They entered the manor and Asano made his excuses. He could not stay for dinner, but begged permission to return. Yoshi agreed more than a little encouraged. Asano was a powerful member of Sesshomaru's court. If Yuka mated him, Ayame would have an excuse to be there. One of his daughters as Lady of the Western Lands meant that he would have a significant part in the politics of the ningen and youkai courts.

Evening dragged on and he sat through his meal listening as Ayame tried to pry information from her sister. Yuka was unusually tight-lipped, but Yoshi supposed it was probably good that she learn some restraint. He'd never had the heart to teach them that women should be seen and not heard, extravagant bartering chips and elaborate pieces of furniture, but nothing more. His eyes fell on Kagome and he felt something move within him. She really was pretty. It was too bad that her virginity could fetch such a high price or he would have taken it for himself a long time ago. He still could, if he was willing to force her to marry him. Such unions were not unheard of, even if they were considered unorthodox. After the meal he summoned her to his study. Kagome knelt, her eyes fixed on the mat as he paced.

“Tell me what they did.”

“They walked through the village, my Lord, speaking of their lives. Asano-sama told Yuka-dono of his dealings at court. Yuka-dono talked of her childhood. She listened well and spoke only when proper. I fear, though, that they slipped away from me for an hour. I found them sitting by the stream near the road. I do not think anything happened between them that was improper.”

Yoshi frowned slightly. “I would almost rather that something had. Next time, let them get out of your sight a little longer.”

“As my Lord wishes.”

The slight draft against her skin was the only sign that she had that he had waved his hand in dismissal. She backed out of the room, closing the door. With a soft sigh she rose and walked back toward the kitchen. She stirred the pot of rice that would become breakfast in a few hours and sat down by the warm fire with Shippou in her lap.

“Okaasan, why are you sad?”

The cooked glanced over, equally interested though trying not to show it. Kagome smiled down at her pup. “I am missing someone.”

“Who?”

She shook her head. She could not say it, not here where so many would hear. She closed her eyes and drew upon her memory. The scent of Fall, the crisp smell of leaves in the cool air. Eyes that burned with the colors of the Autumn fires that consumed every tree. She leaned back further, letting the scent and the memory of those intense eyes burn into her brain and calm her form. At last she opened her eyes and smiled at Shippou.

“It doesn't matter.”

“Yes it does. You seem…lonely.”

She could have wept at the child's perceptiveness, but struggled instead to come up with something to comfort him. “How could I be lonely if I have you?”

He buried his face in her chest and she snuggled with him. “You're lonely the way my mother was lonely whenever my father went away.”

She closed her eyes. “I don't have a husband, Shippou, you know that.”

“So? Find one so you won't be lonely anymore.”

“It is not so easy. I think it is time for bed.”

He pouted but was soon asleep on her lap. Gently she caressed his tail, trying to calm herself as much as him. She closed her eyes, fighting tears. She'd caught Yoshi's look at dinner, the way his eyes had darkened when he gazed at her. What if someday the promise of her dowry was not enough? She suppressed a shudder, fearful of waking the kit. Slowly she rose and nodded to the cook. She needed to walk, to have fresh air surround her and blow away the disgust his memory left with her. Silently she fingered the spot where the ring hid itself. Stepping outside she let the cool night air slide over her. It was not enough to wash it all away, but it would have to do.