InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Better Things than You ❯ Wanted: Miko ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. That is the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Productions.

 

A/N: OMG! And update that didn't take fucking forever! This one's mostly plot, but I hope you like it. Also if you see any inconsistencies, please point them out, and I'll put them on my long list of things to fix.

 

Thanks to those of you with fully functioning fingers who reviewed. You guys are the ones who keep this story going. Seriously.

 

Chapter 14

 

The old woman had lit some incense which was currently choking up her tiny hut.

 

Kagome attempted to politely cover her nose from the burning herbs as she gave a sideways glance at Sango to gage the Amazon's reaction, but the warrior was breathing perfumed smoke as if it were fresh air.

 

When she had finished her muttered prayers at the alter, the elder turned to the two younger women, staring at Kagome with her one good eye.

 

Nodding at Sango, she began speaking, and even though Sango also began to translate, Kagome could not break eye contact with the elder.

 

She said her name was Kaede, and after going on about some general things concerning the tribe and her position in it, Kaede suddenly became very grave.

 

“We have a problem in this forest, Kagome,” Sango translated carefully. “There are many dangers for us in the form of demons, but thankfully we are protected.”

 

Kagome was surprised at this statement. The Amazons seemed to protect themselves fairly well. “Protected?” She could stop herself from asking.

 

Once Sango had interpreted, Kaede nodded. “We are protected by the Shinkon no Tama, a powerful jewel given to us to ward away the demons.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “The story of the jewel is very old, but all our tribe knows it by heart. It was brought to this place by a powerful miko—the founder of our tribe. She built the shrine for the jewel to keep it safe. She also welcomed women from the surrounding jungle villages, women who had been mistreated. The miko trained them to be the protectors of the Shinkon no Tama so that it in turn would keep them safe.”

 

Kaede paused for a moment to draw in a deep breath, giving Kagome time absorb what was being told to her. A miko? She said before that I had miko powers. Like the founder of their tribe. Does she…?

 

Again Kaede began speaking, and Sango quickly picked up translating.

 

“We have survived for generations, and always a miko was born specifically to care for the jewel even though we all are here to protect it; the jewel gives us the strength to project it.

 

“But for some time—since I was a young child—our tribe has been without a priestess.”

 

She paused to eye Kagome carefully.

 

“This was expected of course. It had been prophesized that such a time would come. A new miko will appear to us, and her arrival would bring a time of darkness followed by our tribe's assured prosperity. This miko would be our last.”

 

Kagome gaped at the older woman. “You—you mean men?” She nearly choked on the words, her heart pounding away in her chest, praying that Kaede would say something else, something to mean she meant someone else—that anyone but her was the miko.

 

But when Sango translated Kagome's words, the woman only gave her a solemn smile and a nod to say that yes, she really did mean Kagome.

 

“But—I—I”

 

“You are the miko we have waited for,” Kaede reaffirmed through Sango.

 

“But I'm supposed to bring a time of darkness?” She gulped.

 

“Followed by prosperity, do not forget that,” Kaede gave Kagome a warm, grandmotherly smile. “Our tribe has struggled the past years without a miko; we have seen how we require one. The prophecy is what has given me hope child, that though there will be a dark time; at the end our tribe will be able to flourish.”

 

She regarded Kagome yet again with one of her measured stares.

 

“The question is, can you be this miko for us?” She continued at Kagome's hesitance, “I can sense your skills have been little used, but it does not matter. Just your presence is comforting to the Jewel, and you must have noticed yourself its affects on your powers.”

 

Kagome's mind flashed back to the purple light, the blinding glow as she had pushed Inuyasha away.

 

“With Inuyasha—that was?”

 

“You purified him.”

 

Kagome thought back to her times in London. There were demons in London too, and more than once they had tracked her down. Miroku had said she had purified those demons, but it had been nothing compared to what she had done with Inuyasha. If her blast had lasted any longer or been any stronger, she could have made him temporarily human.

 

Or killed him.

 

“So will you be our miko?” Kaede was urging again.

 

Kagome thought for a moment. This was asking a lot. She had gone from London where her powers were ignored or had to be hidden to this place where she was given a title and responsibility because of the same powers.

 

“I am flattered, but I do not wish to hurt anyone. I understand you see the `darkness' I would be bringing as a necessary evil, but how do the other members of your tribe feel?”

 

Kaede smiled. “You are wise my child. Even though your being here will cause some discord, there is nothing that can be done. It is the prophecy.” She spoke the last words as if they were something even Kagome, and outsider, should understand. “We greatly need you, Kagome. And if you aid us, we will over look the presence of the two men who have accompanied you here.”

 

Kagome's gaze shot up from where she had been studying her hands. Even as a naïve Londoner, she could recognize a veiled threat when she heard one.

 

“Alright,” Kagome bowed her head. “If you think I will be of use, then I will help you.”

 

“Good, my child,” Kaede breathed with her grandmotherly smile.

 

She was about to say more when the hut's flap was thrown back and a girl rushed in. Bowing to Kaede, she said in a breathless voice, “A man was captured from the forest, Elder Kaede.”

 

“Another one?” The woman spat. “We'll be overrun!”

 

XXXXXXXX

 

Inuyasha had smelled the reek long before he saw its source, so it was not a surprise for him to see a rumpled Naraku being drug into the Amazon camp.

 

Even warned, it did not stop the hair on the back of his neck from bristling, for his claws and fangs growing a bit longer, or for his eyes not to flicker red. The demon was too close to the surface from his run ins with Kagome and Miroku, but by sheer strength of will, Inuyasha somehow managed to keep the beast under control.

 

Miroku sat next to him by the small camp fire. Both men were temporarily free from restraints, but it was clear by the looming guards that they were not free to move as they chose.

 

“What are you doing here?” Miroku as he absently poked at the fire with a stick, trying to keep his anger under control as not to draw attention to their captors.

 

Inuyasha tried to relax, tried to concentrate on pushing thoughts of Naraku out of his mind. Miroku was speaking to him, giving him a chance to tell his side of the story—a chance he had not been given in London. He and Miroku had not spoken since the night they had almost dueled over Kagome's honor.

 

“I went to see Kagome and your mother told me she had ran away from home,” he turned away from where he had been watching Miroku reshape the ash to look his friend in the eyes. “I knew it was my fault, and I couldn't let anything happen to her.”

 

Miroku nodded slowly, but still did not look happy. “She would not be here now if you could have just kept your word and married her in the first place. Why were you even bothering to go see her? Rub more salt in the wound?” Miroku angrily jerked his gaze back to the fire.

 

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment. As much as he missed Kagome, he missed his best friend too. If he said the right thing now, perhaps one day he and Miroku would be able to patch things up. He could not get angry, he reasoned, drawing in a deep breath.

 

“Miroku, honestly, I can't say what happened to me. But I think he has something to do with it,” he motioned to Naraku as the bound man was shoved into a hut.

 

“Lord Naraku?” Miroku sounded confused but interested. “We never told you before, a small smile tugged on his lips, “but he also wanted to marry Kagome. He has quite a fortune.”

 

Inuyasha's claws dug into his pants and one of the Amazon guards gave him a strange look, but still, Inuyasha managed to keep the demon at bay. “So why are you telling me now?” His voice was the gravelly growl of the demon, and Miroku edged gingerly away.

 

Shrugging his shoulders after a moment, Miroku tried to answer the question without getting shredded by the hanyou sitting next to him. “At the time you were a friend of the family. Then, well you know…”

 

“I no longer deserve to be protected,” Inuyasha's shoulders hunched, ears drooping.

 

Miroku felt a pang of guilt. Inuyasha had voluntarily followed them into the jungle to protect Kagome and here he was, trying to make the hanyou jealous. He had meant to bring up the fact he might reconsider Lord Naraku's offer if they made it back to London, but Miroku didn't have the heart.

 

“If it makes you feel any better, we didn't tell Kagome either. Not that she would have had a choice to make.”

 

Nodding slowly, Inuyasha met Miroku's gaze again. “For what its worth, I am sorry, and I hope one day I can make it up to you and your family.”

 

“I'm not the one you need to apologize to. That would be Kagome,” He motioned with a hand to the scantily clad girl who had appeared out in the day light next to Sango. The younger woman was looking their way. “But,” Miroku brought the hanyou's attention back to himself, “if you want me to listen to you explanation, I'd be happy to hear it.”

 

Inuyasha sucked in a deep breath. “Alright, but it's a long story…”

 

Looking at their guards, Miroku shrugged his shoulders. “I think we have time.”