Bleach Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ New Life ❯ Suspicions ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Bleach or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: Strong Language and Mild Violence

Suspicions

 

Kagome quickly made her way home, after stopping at the store to get a few extra things for her friends. She quickly gave a distracted goodbye to her mother and Souta, a promise that she would never scare her mother like that again, and then she was off.

As she headed to the well house, a strange dread filled her. She forged onward anyway, and soon, she was engulfed in the glow of time travel.

As soon as she came over the well's lip, she was assaulted by a ball of fur that smashed into her chest. Luckily, she'd felt his presence and had put her bag out before she herself had vacated the well.

Still, the momentum of Shippo's jump almost knocked her back into the well before she found her balance.

His body was shaking violently, his head buried in her chest.

“Kagome! I was so scared! We all thought you were dead! The others… they don't believe Inuyasha that you're alive!”

Looking down, she groaned at the amount of blood she'd lost.

“Eesh. No wonder they don't believe him,” she mused, paling slightly at the thought that all of that had been inside of her.

“Shh… I'm alive, Shippo. I'm sorry for scaring you,” Kagome murmured, cradling her to her chest and gently caressing his head.

“I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you! Please don't scare me like that again, mommy!”

Suddenly, he gasped and pulled back, staring at her in horror.

“I'm sorry! It just slipped out.”

“Shh… It's fine,” Kagome said, smiling softly. “I don't mind.”

“Really?” he asked, sniffling.

“Really,” she said, kissing his forehead and smiling lovingly at the kit who, for all intents and purposes, was probably the closest thing she'd have to a son.

“Thank you!” he squealed, clutching to her and smiling brilliantly.

With a smile, Kagome hefted her bag with one hand and took off for into the forest. She quickly sensed the group's approach, and stopped for them in a clearing.

They quickly came into the clearing, and every single one of them but a slightly bruised Inuyasha stared at her in absolute shock.

“Inuyasha, why's everyone so surprised?”

“Keh. They all saw the blood. They didn't believe you're alive.”

“What's with the bruises?”

Inuyasha glared pointedly at Sango and Miroku, who were seeming to slowly get over the shock.

“They thought I was being cruel for lying about it.”

Kagome's eyes wandered to the stoic-appearing Kikyo, and she glared death at her.

“You should've felt me alive.”

The stoic expression faded, and Kagome involuntarily shuddered at the absolutely frosty glare she was given.

“I did feel Kagome die.”

Kagome stared in shock as suddenly, her friends drew their weapons while Inuyasha watched with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“What the hell kind of demon are you?” Sango growled, hefting her massive boomerang, with murderous intent obvious in her stance.

“I'm not a demon,” Kagome said, frowning.

“You've taken the appearance and, apparently, the memories of our friend. And I've never felt the kind of evil energy I sense from you,” he said, slowly lifting his staff.

Suddenly, they began to charge, and Kikyo stopped Inuyasha in his place with a cold glare. Without hesitation, Kagome let Shippo go and dove out of the Hiraikotsu's path.

“Shippo, stay back, okay?”

The kit stared in horror as the monk began to swing his staff at Kagome.

After having gotten used to her new senses by this point, Kagome was unsurprised when she managed to easily dodge her `friends' attacks. But when she saw Miroku reach for the beads on his hand, she knew there was no way she'd avoid what was coming.

“Wind Tunnel!”

Suddenly, a massive vortex of sucking wind formed, and in one motion, Kagome drew her Zanpakuto and dug it deep into the ground. And then, she held on for dear life.

“You'll pay for taking our friend,” Sango snarled.

With a scream, the slayer released her boomerang. Kagome was completely helpless as it came for her. When it made contact, she let out a pained scream as she soared high into the air. She felt her ribs cracking individually, and this drew yet another scream.

When she hit the ground, she bounced a few times before finally coming to a rest. Thankfully, she was now strong enough to walk away from that kind of damage, and forced herself up.

Only to find her face inches from Kikyo's drawn arrow.

“Die, demon!”

She released the arrow and purifying energy sparked along the shaft. And it was to the entire group's shock that Kagome caught the arrow. And the arrow subsequently exploded in a flash of light.

Shakily, Kagome forced herself up, and was completely unsurprised when her coughing fit resulted in blood on her hand.

“That hurt,” she growled, glaring at Kikyo. “I can't believe this. You all think so little of me that you believe I'd just go off and die and never come back? I'd thought you had more faith in me than that.”

With one last sweeping glare at her `friends,' she vanished from the clearing.

She showed up at Kaede's hut, stumbling and limping as she passed through the door.

“Oh, my!” the elder miko exclaimed at the sight of the bloody and dirty Kagome.

“Are you going to attack me, too?” she practically growled.

“Of course not. Come quickly! Let me see to those wounds,” she said, pulling out bandages and quickly helping Kagome strip of her shirt.

“They attacked you, then?” Kaede asked, gently cleaning out the bloody wound in Kagome's chest.

“Yeah,” Kagome gasped, wishing that being a Shinigami meant she was immune to pain.

The fact that her broken ribs were making breathing difficult also caught her attention, but she forced herself not to dwell on it.

“Your aura seems to be quite different from before. Almost like a demon's.”

“Really?” Kagome asked, though she already knew she was now somewhat demonic.

“Aye. So, tell me what has happened,” Kaede said as she began to work more vigorously on the wound.

To take her mind off of the pain, Kagome talked. She told Kaede about the Shinigami, the Hollows, the Vizard, and finally about how she'd been involved in their world because she had died.

“I see… How is it that came to pass?” Kaede asked, beginning to wrap Kagome's chest with bandage.

“Naraku.”

“Naraku killed you?” Kaede asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah. It was my fault. When we all got separated, I started looking for everyone. It was all a trick. Naraku used Sango's voice with that ability of his to lure me. Suddenly, I was being chased by him, down a mountain, all because I thought that Sango was in trouble. I should've known better than to believe Sango would ever call randomly for help,” she muttered, eyes downcast.

“Naraku's very good at deception. Tis' not your fault you went to aid your friend and had a lapse in judgment.”

“Yeah, I guess. It was the most horrible thing I've ever gone through. He wanted to draw it out. He chased me all the way from the mountain to the Bone Eater's Well before he finally decided to end it. At least when I woke up on the other side, the poison was gone, so I died peacefully… For the most part.”

“And then you met this Mister Urahara and became a Grim Reaper?”

“Yeah… It's a lot to take in. I went through a whole lot of suffering to gain enough power, so that when I came back here, I'd be more useful. And what happens when I show up? Sango tries to break me apart, Miroku tries to suck me into his void, and Kikyo tries to purify me.”

“Ye sound bitter,” Kaede mused, surprising Kagome with the humor.

“Heh… Yeah, just a little.”

“So, are ye returning to your time, then?” the elder miko asked, frowning slightly.

“I came back here because I wanted to continue traveling with my friends and complete the Shikon. I really don't want to go back. But I've already died once, and I really don't want a repeat performance. That's the reason it took me so long to come back. I wanted to be strong enough that I wouldn't always have everyone worrying about me.”

“I see… I think ye need to take a moment and consider this. Ye shouldn't blame your friends. Even I was astounded by all the blood ye lost, and their hesitancy to believe that ye would somehow miraculously live through it.”

“But you believed Inuyasha,” Kagome argued.

“Aye. But I knew Inuyasha had no reason to lie about such things, and decided I would wait to see ye myself.”

Kagome thought about this, deciding that her friends' reactions were actually pretty reasonable given the circumstances of her departure.

“Alright, you're right, as usual. Thank you for always being so wise, Kaede,” she said, smiling appreciatively. “Once I can move around on my own, I'll go and try to explain things to them.”

“That would probably be best,” the woman said, nodding.

“Thank you, Kaede,” Kagome said, hugging her as soon as she had a new shirt from her bag on.

Just at that moment, the cover of the hut's door was pulled up, and the group came inside. They immediately tensed at the sight of Kagome hugging the elder priestess, but before they could do anything, Kagome brought a barrier into existence around her and Shippo, who'd instantly run for her.

The show of her miko powers gave the group pause, and Kagome sighed as they looked less likely to try to kill her now. She sighed as Shippo cuddled into her non-injured side, and gazed up at the group.

“Alright, I get why you wouldn't believe it. But if you're willing to listen, I'll try my best to explain how I'm alive after dying.”

The group looked skeptical, but they sat down at the edge of the hut, apparently deciding they had nothing to lose.

Kagome once again went through what had happened, starting with the trap. As soon as Sango heard that she was the reason Kagome died, she broke down into sobs.

“Sango, don't cry. I'm not dead, and it wasn't your fault that I let Naraku trick me…”

“So, how are you alive?” Miroku asked as he gently comforted the slayer, who apparently hadn't heard Kagome.

Kagome then went into how she apparently killed a modern-day demon called a Hollow, and then woke up in a shop. She went into how she became a Shinigami, and hesitantly explained that she had a demon of sorts inside of her, and she then came back after gaining a lot of power.

When she was done, the group stared at her in a shocked silence. And then, Kikyo glared and stood up.

“It's impossible. I would have felt it if Kagome were to return to life! And I only felt her die.”

“That's a valid point,” Kagome said, frowning thoughtfully. “You're hiding the mass of jewel shards we've collected in her left sleeve.”

“Any demon could tell that, from its power,” Kikyo scoffed.

“True, they'd feel the power. But would they feel it well enough to know exactly where it is?”

This seemed to prove her identity with finality to Sango and Miroku, but Kikyo merely seemed angrier.

“Alright, here's something you can't dispute. If I'd truly, completely died, you'd be alive right now because my soul would have returned to you and completed your own soul.”

The logic gave the miko pause, and after several minutes, she finally growled low in her throat.

“Alright, I'll accept that. There's truth to that logic. But just because Kagome's soul didn't return to me, I'm not going to accept you're her so easily.”

“Fair enough,” Kagome yawned. “And now, I'm going to sleep. We can continue this game tomorrow, after I'm fully rested.”

And then, her eyes slid closed and she laid back. Shippo curled further into her embrace and they all watched as they both fell almost instantly unconscious. They couldn't believe how fast the cracks that signified the start and end of her wounds sealed, her regeneration faster than Inuyasha's.

The others left the hut, gathering outside. They were all pensive as they mulled over all that they'd been told. After a while, Kikyo left, and this broke the silence.

“Is it really possible that Kagome, the purest person I've ever met, to have a demon inside of her?” Miroku thought out loud, looking thoughtful.

“Not like there'd be any point lying about it,” Inuyasha said, looking at the night sky. “You felt her power, monk.”

“Yes, but it's still hard to believe. I've never felt anyone that strong, and she's certainly not the same miko as before.”

“Maybe we should just ask to see what her demon looks like when she's up,” Sango said, shrugging into Miroku's embrace…

 

Kagome awoke several hours later. The instant she was up, she knew that everyone else was asleep. It took her a short time to figure out what had awoken her when she should be resting and healing.

A jewel shard. And it was close.

Despite her injury, she got up as carefully as possible so as not to wake up Shippo, and headed off from the hut soundlessly.

She came into the small grove where she felt the jewel shard, and was instantly surprised and put on edge. Sitting on a tree stump, looking bored and staring at the black jewel shard in her hand, was Kagura.

Her head snapped up at Kagome's entry into the area, and a small smirk crept onto her face.

“Well now, this is surprising. You're supposedly dead,” the sorceress said, seeming amused.

“Yeah, well, I'm persistent,” Kagome said, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Huh… I suppose it's not really surprising that the bastard screwed up again…”

“So, why are you here?” Kagome asked, unconsciously reaching for her Zanpakuto.

“I'm supposed to draw Kikyo out here and kill her,” Kagura said with a shrug.

The absolute ease with which she'd disclosed the information gave Kagome pause. She examined the sorceress more closely, and she came to a sudden realization when she was done.

There was a look of horror and suffering in her eyes, and Kagome noticed that she wasn't only bored, she absolutely didn't want to be there.

“You hate him, don't you?” Kagome asked, surprising the witch.

“What?”

“Why do you follow him if you hate him so much? Hakudoshi and Akago managed it for a while.”

“Yeah, well those two were lucky,” Kagura growled, anger glowing in her eyes. “I don't owe you any explanations.”

“You're right. But you're obviously not happy about following his orders.”

“Yeah, but I'll do it anyway. He has my heart. Literally. And if I don't at least act like a good little soldier, he'll crush it and I'll be dead… Fuck this, the priestess isn't going to show,” she said, making a large feather appear from her youki and a white feather in her hair.

“Here,” she said, tossing the shard to Kagome as she rose. “At least like this, I can tell the bastard that I had to retreat.”

And then, without another word, the witch disappeared, and Kagome returned to the village in a kind of stunned awe.

As she made it out of the woods, she found Kikyo leaning against a tree, glaring death at her.

“What were you doing with that demoness?”

In response, Kagome handed the older miko the jewel shard and stepped back.

“She was waiting for you. She was going to attack you.”

“Even if you've convinced all of them, I don't believe you. But there's one way I can prove that you're a demon.”

“Oh?” Kagome asked, a delicate brow raised in question.

Kikyo reached a hand inside of her sleeve and pulled out a crescent moon-shaped mass of Shikon shards.

Kagome was surprised when Kikyo suddenly pulled her hand out and slapped the jewel into her palm.

Kikyo let out a small, almost inaudible snarl when the jewel actually got purer the second it made contact with her.

“Fine! They don't need both of us.”

And then, without another word, Kikyo vanished into the air, her Soul Collectors lifting her high into the sky…

 

Kagome woke up to Inuyasha sniffing the ground and staring up at the sky in confusion.

“Morning,” Kagome yawned, making him jump.

“Mornin'.”

“What are you smelling for?” Kagome asked as Shippo curled into her side, his tail tickling her exposed stomach.

“Kikyo. She's gone, and I can't smell her. Her trail just suddenly vanishes, right outside the hut.”

“She left last night,” Kagome said, bringing him around to her.

“What?”

Knowing the truth would hurt a lot, Kagome quickly came up with a way to soften the blow of Kikyo probably never showing up again.

“She said that it'd be faster if we went separate ways now that I'm back, so we can get more shards in a shorter time. Speaking of which, are we going for more jewel shards soon?”

“Keh. If you can wake their slow asses up,” he said, nodding toward the sleeping forms of Sango and Miroku.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight of Miroku's arm wrapped around Sango, whose body was leaned into his embrace.

“They look so peaceful. It'd be a shame… We can leave later,” Kagome said, lying back down and cradling Shippo to her now perfectly unharmed side.

Several hours later, the group was preparing to leave, and Kagome felt that they all wanted to ask her something.

“Oh, right! Inuyasha, I need to go back home in a week to work on my powers, so I can last longer.”

“Keh! I thought you already got all of that shit working.”

“Well, I do. It's just, when I use my Hollow powers, I can't make it last long. It only lasted about three seconds when I used it, and then I hurried here. I need to train to make it last.”

“Kagome, forgive me for being so skeptical, but I have a very difficult time believing you've become a demon,” Miroku said, frowning.

“You want proof?” Kagome asked, noticing that both he and Sango seemed embarrassed. “Alright, but watch carefully, because it's like I've said; I can't hold it for long.”

They stared in rapt attention as she snapped her fingers, and the mask formed. As soon as it took shape, unbelievably strong youki exploded outward from her body, nearly flattening them to the ground.

And, just as she'd said, three seconds later, the mask shattered and the power faded. And then, she almost immediately dropped to her knees, gasping and panting as exhaustion hit her hard.

“Holy shit!” Inuyasha said, staring at her in shock.

“Yeah, you can't imagine how tired I get, though. Which is why I'm not going to be using it in a fight until I've trained it more… So, where are we going?” she asked as she finally caught her breath.

“There's a rumor of a nearby town that's being attacked by a spirit. Apparently, it had been a peaceful spirit, until recently,” Miroku explained.

“Sounds simple enough.”

As they made the journey, the group was amazed. Inuyasha appeared to be putting real effort into keeping up with Kagome, who was absentmindedly staring at the sky, not paying attention to her speed. The entire time, she was talking animatedly with Shippo, who she was hugging to her chest.

The kit seemed unbelievably chipper as he excitedly asked Kagome question after question about her powers. About halfway to the town, Shippo dozed off, and Kagome held him gently to her chest. The group watched in silence as she seemed to not even remember their presences, her eyes glazed over and seeming to be focused on something truly horrible.

When night began to fall, Kagome suddenly stopped and sheathed her blade.

“Hey, Inuyasha, Sango, could I ask a favor?” she asked, turning to them.

“What kinda' favor, wench?” Inuyasha asked warily.

“Would you both help me learn to use a sword? I can't keep getting by in fights by sheer luck and instincts.”

After a short moment, they both reluctantly agreed, but Kagome rethought her request when Sango spoke.

“I'd really rather not, Kagome. I've had to face you dying once, and I really-”

“I don't want you guys to go all-out,” Kagome quickly said, frowning. “I just need to learn better fighting skills. I can only learn so much by just watching you and Inuyasha fight, and I got really lucky a few times while I was training in my time.”

“Keh. You don't even have a sword, wench,” Inuyasha argued.

To that, she brought out her dagger, and he smirked cockily.

“That's a little short for a sword.”

“I know. It's not a sword. Kumori Suishou!”

The dagger ignited in light, and she was suddenly holding her Shikai in front of her shocked friends. She could tell that all of the power that she suddenly had was shocking her friends more and more, and she honestly found it kind of amusing.

“This is my sword, Kumori Suishou.”

“Damn, do you have anything else you can pull out of nothing?” Inuyasha asked, staring at the weapons.

“Actually, I do. So, will you help me?” Kagome asked hopefully.

“Yeah, I'll help,” Inuyasha grumbled.

“Me too. But we should probably set up camp, first,” Sango said.

An hour later, the three of them were standing a little further down the field they decided to camp on. Sango had her sword drawn, and looked deadly as she took a stance before Kagome.

“Alright. Let's just see what kind of skills you have, first,” Sango said, preparing to attack.

And then, she lunged, and the next hour consisted of the women going blow for blow with their swords, the clashing of metal filling the night's air. And then, Kagome dodged one of the slayer's swings, and brought her own sword up.

Sango's blade flew several feet before digging into the ground, and Kagome smiled in triumph. Until her feet were swept out from under her, and her friend was suddenly on top of her, a poised hand right over her throat.

“That was pretty good, Kagome. But, you lost.”

“Well, considering I never fought with a sword before a few days ago, and almost never fought hand-to-hand, I'd say it's really good,” panted Kagome.

“Good point,” the slayer said, rising and letting Kagome get back to her feet.

Just as they began to head back to the others, Kagome's eyes widened and she let out a strangled gasp. The others stared in horror as she fell to the ground, clutching at her chest and gasping for air.

“Kagome!”

“The hell's wrong!?” Inuyasha yelled, kneeling down next to her.

Kagome's eyes widened even more and she looked up at the hanyo, pain and an absolute terror filling her entire being.

“The well,” she gasped.

“What about the well?” Sango asked, gently gripping her friend's suddenly clammy hand.

“I… I don't know. Please, take me there. Something's wrong,” Kagome panted, tears coming to her eyes as another wave of pain and dread filled her.

No more words were spoken as Inuyasha took off, the miko on his back and Sango running to retrieve the others. None of them had ever moved so fast before, in their entire lives…

 

A/N:

Well, there's the newest chapter. Hope you're enjoying the story so far! As always, be sure to tell me what you think!