InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Dark ❯ The Wind's Whispers ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Kagome looked at Midoriko with a large blush painted on her face; then looked back at her own hands. Midoriko just laughed, while Shen looked at Kagome with a small twinkle in her eyes.

“Don’t worry about that Kagome. Here you can fully tap into your powers. With the task you just finished you’ve gained more power, and Shen is immune to them so you don’t have to worry about hurting her. And within this plane it’s as though you have a full soul, when you leave here you’ll notice the slight decrease of power. Later I will tell you how to obtain your soul once again without having it tainted.” Midoriko explained lightly.

Kagome’s eyes went wide with what she just heard. She hadn’t exactly thought much about what just happened.

“Whoa! Wait a minute. I just gained more powers from Yurushi? Does this have anything to do with me being a celestial miko now? There’s a way for me to get my soul back, untainted? And... Shen is a... girl?” she asked speaking a mile a minute, trying to figure everything out so it didn’t cloud her mind later.

This time Midoriko looked at Kagome curiously. She had wondered what happened while she was within herself for so many hours. Never had anyone heard of a miko becoming a celestial during the task. Plus Kagome never told Midoriko what had happened while she received her gift. Then again going through such task was rare. Although the question referring Shen’s gender almost made the older miko fall over.

'How did Kagome not know Shen’s gender... then again the young miko might have respected the kitsune’s personal space.'

“Kagome, breathe. First off, yes, Shen is a girl. Now I want you to sit down so we can talk before me move on. ”

Kagome’s eye arched up elegantly at the new information about Shen. Kagome looked over at Shen and Shen tilted her head at Kagome, cutely. The young miko sighed and walked towards Shen.

At such Shen stood up and waited for Kagome to sit, when she did Shen jumped onto her and made her self comfortable. Kagome smiled cheekily at the heaven kitsune and petted her.

“Well now, thanks for giving me a heads up there. How a kitsune can be heavenly and innocent, is beyond me... but you and Shippo pull it off quite nicely.” she said, tapping the young kitsune on the nose lightly. The young kit tilted her head and twitched an ear. She yipped with joy and swished her tail to one side. Kagome smiled and continued to pet the young kitsune.

It was then that Midoriko asked her, “Kagome. What happened after you comforted yourself?” her face was strict and serious.

Kagome looked directly into Midoriko’s eye and told her every thing, including the kiss that had made her and Yurushi related. It didn’t take long being as to Kagome it had only been a few hours. It didn’t feel like days to her.

Midoriko looked at Kagome, a light blush on her face. Even Midoriko had never heard of celestial beings choosing humans to be their kin. Apparently Kagome was pure enough; it would explain why Shen was a heaven kitsune. Kirara was a fire neko due to Midoriko’s wrath: fiery. It would seem Midoriko just wasn’t pure enough to be chosen, due to her temporary hate towards youkai before Kirara came along. It was that mistake that had slightly tainted her from being chosen to be celestial. But what she had done in the past was behind her now, besides she was bound to the Shikon no Tama until a pure wish was made.

The wind blew past, almost wistfully, and tossed both miko’s dark locks around. Midoriko watched Kagome as she held her hand out with a smile with a small nod, as though to soothe the wind. Kagome had heard the wind ask her if she was faring well. She couldn’t ignore the whispers, it sounded as though they were worried; she had to do something. She blew air out of her mouth softly; to show the wind she was fine. It spun around her as though to be sure and when it was it lifted up and left. Kagome smiled and waved to the sky.

Midoriko looked at the celestial miko in an odd manner. It might have been just her, but she was sure she just saw Kagome speak to the elements. It was true that there were to be side-effects from the bond due to her miko powers and what they were to be was unknown. Maybe Kagome was able to speak with the elements, but it... couldn’t be possible. Only one miko could do that... and that one miko was her, as well as her reincarnations. Of course so far there was only one reincarnation that was hers, but she was still a child at the moment, and she didn’t have her full powers due to the fact part of her was also within the Shikon no Tama. Still, only legendary mikos were granted that gift by the kami. It was very rare.

“Kagome... did you just... hear the wind?” she asked cautiously.

Kagome looked over at the older miko with wide eyes. She hadn’t realized that she was speaking with the wind; all Kagome heard was a whisper. But, how would Midoriko know... unless she heard them too. All Kagome could do though was raise her hands to mouth and nod sheepishly. Of course, curiosity got the better of Kagome and she had to ask.

“Do... do you hear them too?” she questioned. Kagome just had to know.
Midoriko nodded with a small smile, “Yes Kagome. I hear ‘them’ too. As do my reincarnations. But there is only one at the moment.... I believe you know her, or have seen her a few times. She’s such a kind girl, who has found the oddest company. A bit like you, but she has found her way into royalty. Not as to the highest kingdom of the spirit world like you; but the highest on this plane in this time.”

Kagome and Shen tilted their heads to the side at the same time hoping to get a name from Midoriko. But Midoriko just shook her head slowly, smile still in place, “In due time Kagome. You will know, and you will play a great role in her life.”

Kagome just nodded then looked down at Shen as if she had the answers. Shen just twitched an ear and licked Kagome on the nose. Kagome smiled wryly at the kitsune’s actions.

“Yeah, I’m never going to get over how kitsune pull the innocent act off.”, Kagome said through slightly clenched teeth.

Midoriko chuckled at Kagome’s spoken thoughts.

“Well Kagome, it seems as though you’ve gotten a hold of your powers. Now let’s just harness them. First, just take deep breaths and feel all that’s around you.”, as she said this, she also began to follow her own instructions.

Kagome sighed and did as told. She wasn’t expecting much of anything. Although the encouraging whispers from the elements made her happy and set her into a more meditative state.

Midoriko cracked an eye open to see Kagome had gone a step ahead of her without instruction.

'So I see her instincts are calling out to her. That’s good, this won’t be as difficult if she trusts herself.'

“Kagome I want you to follow your instincts. Let them guide you.”

But Kagome couldn’t hear the older miko, it was muffled. She heard another voice, it was calming and it seemed as though it had only her best intentions at heart. She heard it tell her things that would help her in the near future and how to control her powers. Soon Kagome was engulfed in a blue light that seemed to cling to her skin. It tingled and felt warm, but Kagome’s face seemed to be contorted in full concentration. It wasn’t much later that she was panting and beads of sweat started to coat her brow.

“Almost... there.” she panted through tightly clenched teeth.

Kagome continued to work for what felt like days, in truth hours. When she finally reached her goal her eyes shot open and seemed clouded, as though she was blind. Her body lifted from the ground to the air and curled in itself as though she was in incredible pain. Several moments later Kagome quickly stretched her limbs from her body and a light shone brightly through her eyes and mouth as she let out a silent scream. As she screamed the wind picked up and wound around her in fierce worry. Water softly fell from the sky in attempt to calm their miko, but at the same time it seemed as though the sky was crying. Lightening streaked across the sky and stuck a pile of woods. Flames shot up on contact and looked as though they were trying to reach the young miko and encase her in their warm glow. Grass swayed left and right while the tree’s loose branches creaked, both growing in futile attempt to reach the distressed miko.

Midoriko stopped all together and was frozen to the ground, just watching the scene before her. If truth be told it frightened her. The elements were doing all they could to try and comfort the distressed miko. They went to what was supposed to be impossible lengths. The wind was blowing wildly around her. The water felt more like a drizzle, but the amount falling from the sky one would think there would be a flood. Lightening fell from the dark clouds starting a small fire that grew and seemed to want Kagome in its embers. The earth itself grew impossibly fast trying to reach the young miko. But the shocking part of all this was that none of it seemed to harm either miko; and although it looked like a natural disaster occurring the elements seemed to get along fine with each other. Fire wasn’t destroying earth; water and air didn’t doused out fire; and water wasn’t drowning earth.

Midoriko felt that if she were to open her mouth her very soul would disperse. It was both beautiful yet frightening. But at the same time that’s what it was and it resembled Kagome in its own odd way, beautiful yet deadly.

Kagome was still within the air. Her hair and clothes seemed to flow around her wildly. Tears seemed to continuously streak down her face, leaving red where it once trekked, her mouth still parted for her silent scream that tore through her delicate throat emptying her pink lungs. It seemed that this event was to be forever to both her and Midoriko. How it was to end was unsure to both women.

It was around this time that Kagome could scream no more and her heart throbbed almost painfully against her chest. Her ears were deafened from the throb. Her vision was blurred from her tears as they stopped abruptly. Eyelids and breath growing heavy, her body tingled all over. It felt as though it was sensitive yet numb at the same time. She could feel every little thing, but couldn’t move the slightest part of her body. All she could do was stare straight ahead as her eyes seemed to close on their own accord. It was then that Kagome realized she that she was tired. Her breaths calmed down as she slowly descended from the sky.

Midoriko then shot out of her temporary coma of fear. Midoriko would admit, the scene that fell out before her scared her deeply. But it would not stop her from doing all she could; she wouldn’t let her fear stop her from doing anything.

'Especially if it means to help Kagome.', she thought as she ran to the falling miko.

Midoriko had made it just in time as the young miko fell into her arms. But instead of feeling a bit heavier due to the height, she felt as light as a feather.

'I wonder if she was always this light....', she thought absently looking down to into the celestial’s face.

The evidence that she cried was still there and stood out against her pale skin. With the hours that passed it didn’t surprise the older miko that the sun had set and the moon took over. The clouds from the rain were disappearing allowing a clear view to the stars and moon. Even for a dreamscape it had to have cycles like the real world. Midoriko quickly shook it off as nothing important and walked to where the fire still danced.

The closer they got the warmer and brighter it became. Kagome started to shift in Midoriko’s arms. The older miko’s immediate reaction was to look down and make sure she was fine. She was greeted with the odd sight of a single blue tear falling from the corner of Kagome’s eye. She furrowed her eyebrows together in slight confusion. She had never seen blue tears. Studying the other woman’s face as though she had the answers, she received none and shook her head and mumbled something to herself and continued walking toward the fire.

When she reached the dancing embers she lowered Kagome to the dry ground below. Kagome turned on her side, facing the fire in a subconscious action for more warmth. She placed one hand under her head as the other lay on the ground next to her. She let out a small yawn and fell deeper into sleep. Midoriko would have to accept what just happened and let it be. It was indeed curious, but she knew not even Kagome would be able to explain it.

She sighed deeply. Midoriko herself didn’t need sleep so she sat down and stared into the fire thinking about what just happened to Kagome.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

Kagome awoke when a beam of sunlight fell across her face. Slowly she opened her eyes and her sighted was greeted with Midoriko smiling sadly down at her.

At such, Kagome furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion, “Midoriko? ... What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.

But Midoriko just shook her head, smile still in place. She stood up and walked over to the sakura tree and placed a hand on it. Her back was towards the younger miko. Kagome took this as a sign to get up and walked over toward Midoriko and looked at her back, silent. Midoriko was aware of Kagome’s movements and turned around, her face seemed like stone.

‘She looks like she did when she died. Like... the limestone statue.’ Kagome stared into her eyes, and saw a determined fire burning in her green orbs.

“Kagome, from last night, I can tell you already know now how to control your powers. And from what I remember Sango had taught you a little bit in self defense. So instead, I shall teach you how to fight.” her voice held much authority.

Kagome’s mouth fell agape. She was going to learn how to fight. Everyone would tell her she’s too soft to fight. But here Midoriko was telling her that she was going to learn, and from what she knew from the story of how the Shikon was made Midoriko had lots of endurance.

Kagome looked at Midoriko and all she could do was nod.

'Good. No complaints this time.'

From then on Midoriko trained her rigorously. At first she had Kagome run laps, then lift weight. After a few weeks she had to run while carrying the weights. Of course things got rougher, she ran through the water with the weights. After that Midoriko would have Kagome hit targets with her arrows, then moving targets. Then because Midoriko had a sense of humor she had her learn to use a staff next. Kagome seemed to fair pretty well with the staff and would sleep with it, trying to remember Miroku. She had cried in her sleep because it felt so familiar. Then she moved on to the next weapon, a sickle. Kagome looked at it oddly, it wasn’t as it appeared to be. She could take the sickle off the bottom which was a metal ball, supposedly a weight, to reveal a chain; it was a chain-sickle. Very similar to the one tajiya used. Kagome also got close to this weapon.

Then it was weapon after weapon. Each one she seemed to get attached to. Kagome noticed they skipped the sword when they went to the scythe. Kagome felt she was scarily good with the scythe. She seemed to move with god-like grace while she wielded it. Midoriko didn’t spend much time on that weapon, being that Kagome had a natural feel for it, much more than the other weapons she had used. The final weapon she was trained to use was, at last, the sword. Kagome spent much time learning many techniques for it. From protecting to killing with deadly accuracy, Kagome mastered all the weapons. But the sword, being as there were many techniques, she had spent a year learning them. She also took this time to become better acquainted with the sword Yurushi gave her.

Of course during her training Shen would join them every now and then. The young kitsune had the power to purify things and run on clouds. It reminded Kagome of Kirara, only she could burn things, and ran on fire. Everyday Shen seemed to get better and better, and Kagome congratulated the kitsune every time. She was a big support to Shen and vice versa.

Over time her body got use to the movements and it felt like second nature to her. Of course she still valued using her bow and arrow, but that was to be expected as it was her first weapon. With all the training Kagome had noticed that he body had changed for the better. Her muscles had become more defined, and her hair grew longer. There was one thing she noticed before the training when she went to bathe in the hot springs. She no longer had body hair besides her eyebrows, eyelashes, and of course the hair on her head. There was no leg hair, no arm hair, nothing. Of course when she first saw that her patch of hair that was supposed to cover her nether lips from view was gone, she freaked. After calming down and realizing it was part of being a celestial, she pouted and mumbled.

As time went on Kagome noticed that when she was brought here she didn’t have her bag, thus no razors. Hey a girl has to look her best at all times. And nothing is more embarrassing than showing off hairy legs when she can help it. So the no body hair thing was perfectly fine with her, she didn’t need to spend extra money anymore, and her legs felt so smooth. After liking the idea Kagome was very pleased.

Midoriko had come to treat Kagome like a daughter and laughed at her antics when she tripped and the first time she overreacted. It was quite funny to see Kagome flailing and ranting about in the hot springs of her body hair, only to squeal in delight. To Kagome it might have seemed like pouting and mumbling, but that was far from what had happened.

Then they spent time sparing each other daily. Once in a while Shen would jump in and help. Either she would help Kagome, to get her use to the feeling of having a fighting companion or she would help Midoriko get Kagome to be stronger, even with all the training Midoriko put her through. Kagome seemed very happy during this time, it was kind of like their bonding time. You could see the twinkle in her eyes everyday at this time. It was like a mixture of Sango and the old Inuyasha were during a fight. They enjoyed it and it was their definition of fun. Of course being that Sango was a woman, she knew when to stop, as did Kagome.

She would never openly admit this to anyone, but she missed the hanyou. No matter how betrayed she felt, she knew deep down, the Inuyasha she knew was still there. Hopefully things would be resolved in the future. Now that she thought about it, she had sensed darkness in the air about Inuyasha and Kikyo on that fateful night. But she didn’t listen; she just added fire to the fuel. That night she cried herself to sleep. Her tears were silent and she dreamt of how she had made the hanyou a promise; a promise to always be his friend. When she woke up she felt a bitter sweet in her stomach, they were still friends. She just had to find a way to fix things.

Time passed quickly to the young miko and Midoriko felt as though every hour was another day.

But when time had come to leave the dreamscape, Kagome had ran to the older miko and cried like she had on the day they met. Midoriko allowed the action and also let a few tears slip. Midoriko felt as though she were losing a daughter; and Kagome felt like she was losing another great friend. Shen had also become sad at this time. She nuzzled the older miko since she was going to leave with Kagome. Shen had grown attached to both women and would hate to leave them, but Kagome came first in her eyes. Midoriko understood and hugged Shen next.

'Take good care of her, Shen. She’ll need all the help she can get.'

“Shen, I want you to wait until Kagome informs her companions of you before you go to her. Understood? I doubt Kagome would want you to be killed by accident by these new people.” she whispered to the heaven kitsune.

Shen mewed and licked Midoriko’s cheek in understanding. The young kitsune had proved to be very loyal. She would stay with Kagome as much as possible and watched over her with a careful eye, despite the fact it was perfectly safe within the dreamscape. She had also shown that she had a larger form, much like Kirara. Then she showed that she too had a human form, but now she looked nothing more than a child, about 6 or 7 years of age, with moon like skin. She stood about Shippo’s height, but had human feet, so she was just a little bit taller. Her hair was silver with a blue hue, like her fur, and her eyes were a sapphire color, like the sphere she was protecting before, with a slit in the middle, much like Shippo’s eyes. Instead of elfish ears hers stood atop her hear, a solid color that matched her hair. And she also had a tail, much like Shippo’s just, less puffy and longer. At first Kagome said how cute she was, picked her up and cuddled her; much like she had when she first met Souten. Shen giggled and nuzzled back. Her japanese was quite good for a child. And her voice was like small bells. Shen preferred her human form but would sometimes turn into her kitsune forms for various reasons. When she turned into her human form, she wasn’t nude, as was expected, but she wore a beautiful Kimono, much like the one Kagome would wear while she was training. Only instead of red it was blue, and made of the finest silk.

Before they both left Midoriko said she had gifts for them. For Shen, she gave her a necklace that would fit all of her forms. Shen squealed with delight and threw her arms around the older miko’s legs.

“Thank you Obaa-chan. Thank you so much.” she said automatically. As soon as the words left her mouth she froze.

Shen had always wanted to call Midoriko her Obaa-chan, and Kagome her Okaa-san. She never asked either of them and referred to them by their first name. But this time her mouth ran without thinking. Slowly she lifted her head to see Midoriko smile down at her.

“You can always call me your Obaa-chan, Shen.” she said, ruffling the kitsune’s hair.

Shen smiled up at the miko and looked over to Kagome who had arms waiting for her, much like a mother would.

Shen’s smile turned into a full blow grin and ran to Kagome, who caught her and lifted her up.

“Kagome?” she asked shyly. Kagome gave a sign she was listening. “Can I call you ‘Okaa-san’?” she asked quietly, a small blush making its way across the kitsune’s face.

Kagome just smiled and planted a small kiss on Shen’s forehead. “I was waiting for you to ask. I would be delighted of you did, after all, you came from me, did you not?”

Shen was shocked. That was true. She had come from Kagome, so that would make her Kagome’s child. Kagome was her true mother all along. She smiled and nodded. Then something came into her mind, but she would ask Kagome at a later time.

“By the way Kagome, at the beginning you asked who my reincarnation was.... her name is Rin. Please look after her and care for her. You know she is an orphan.... and she needs to know she is loved. As for your gift, it is this.” Midoriko lifted her hand and placed one finger on her forehead. Midoriko’s finger glowed green, as she had when they first went into the waterfall’s cave. Then she pulled her finger back and smiled at her handy work.

Kagome looked up trying to see what it was that was on her head now. She strained, but still she couldn’t see, it was plainly obvious, no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn’t be able to. Shen tried to hide a giggle behind her hands, but it still seeped through.
“I can’t see it! What is it?” she complained childishly.

Midoriko smiled. This just might be the last time she could see Kagome in person like this. Her soul being within the Shikon no Tama, she could always see and hear Kagome, but... this would be the last time she could see her in person.

'74 years isn’t enough. Heh, a life time wouldn’t be enough.' she thought solemnly.

“Kagome, on your head is a black marking that looks like a head band with a tear drop in the center, my gift to you. It will only show when you display a strong amount of power. You won’t be able to tap into that power until you have your whole soul.” she explained with a sad smile. They both forgot that she didn’t have a full soul while being in here.

Kagome smiled sadly at the older miko and accepted the gift with honor.

“Thank you Midoriko. It means so much to me.”, she said honestly.

They all hugged one last time and then Shen and Kagome faded from the dreamscape.

“I’m going to miss them both. I hope they’ll be happy from here on out.” Midoriko said as soon as they were out of her sight, tears falling down her face. She made no move to wipe them away. Midoriko was both happy and yet sad. She would always watch over them.

~ End Flashback~

Kagome looked at everyone. They had been polite enough to stay silent through her story, and from the looks of it, they paid attention. Shippo had woken up just in time to hear about her training. Of course Kagome left out some parts since she thought they didn’t need to know. Like her complaining, and bathing. But other than that she told them what she could in detail.

Yusuke was first to get up and looked Kagome up and down, like he was checking her out.

“Well I for one approve.” he stated with a devilish grin plastered on his face.

Kagome’s face seemed to glow bright red as her eyes widened. She should be use to perverted actions thanks to Miroku, but this was the first time someone has seen her as she was now. To be frank she was currently a little self conscious. She bit her bottom lip and tried to avoid all eye contact. It would seem that her voice had left her for the moment.

Shippo knew what was going on with her, as did Arashi. Shippo, being her son, knew what her personality was like and tried to soothe her by patting her head. Arashi, being a woman, knew how it felt after a woman’s appearance change. Most of them were very self conscious, Kagome included. But she didn’t make any out-bursts or scenes, she was just shy. She walked behind the miko and wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to calm her down. It didn’t work very well being that Kagome blushed even harder, if possible.

“Don’t worry Okaa-san, I think you look pretty.” Shippo whispered.
Kagome smiled down at him. Her blush dimmed down a bit, but was still there. Shippo knew what she was worried about.

“Thank you, Shippo.” she said and kissed him on the forehead lovingly.

Just then a young girl shyly poked her head out from behind a tree. She hid her mouth behind her hand, the other on the tree trunk. She had gorgeous sapphire eyes and her ears were down, as though she was afraid of rejection.

“I think you’re pretty too Okaa-san.” she said looking at the ground.

Kagome smiled at the young girl and waved and arm, telling her to come closer. The girl blushed shyly and walked slowly toward Kagome. She had her eyes down to the floor, trying to avoid all but Kagome’s gaze.

Shen had never been around many people. She had only been with Kagome and Midoriko, so meeting new people was something she never thought about. Sure Kagome had mentioned everyone in her group, and her son Shippo, but meeting them in person was another thing.

When she reached Kagome, she was picked up and also received a kiss on the forehead.

“Thank you, Shen.” she said with a warm motherly smile upon her lips.

“Everyone, I want you to meet my daughter, Shen. Please make her feel welcomed.” she said her smile still on her face.

END CHAPTER

AN: I know I did some Inu bashing before, and I’m sorry for those who love him too. But you’ll see why I did so later on, so keep reading.