InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Facets of the Living Jewel ❯ Audi in alteram partem ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters. Ms. Takahashi does.

 

Audi et alteram partem

By Licentia poetica

 

Shippo stared in shock at the well. `Where did they all go? Miroku and Sango never get to go through!' The air rippled around the aged wood, almost as if the well had melted around his family. “Kagooomee!” he yelled, running to the well, “Wait for me!” He reached the opening and stared down into the shadowed depths, but the blue fluorescence of the time magic had already faded. `They're all gone. They all went through... there's nobody left.'

 

His lower lip began to quiver as he sat down next to the well and lifted his face in a howling complaint. “Why am I the only one left behind?”

 

Angrily brushing tears away, he crossed his legs and tucked the flower he had picked into a safe pocket before crossing his arms and leaning back against the well, trying to mimic Inuyasha's usual waiting posture. ``Well, they'll probably be back in a day or two…I hope. I've gotta be strong and act like a grownup. I'll wait by the well `til they come back, just like Inuyasha waits every time Mama leaves.'

 

It worked for all of one minute.

 

`No wonder Inuyasha goes crazy waiting for Mama out here.' Stealthy noises and unknown smells came from all directions as the twilight began to fade, and he knew that to be safe he should find some place to shelter for the night.

 

`I shouldn't stay out here in the open but I don't want to go back to Kaede's. She'll make me go to sleep and she snores too loudly.' The unfamiliar noises began to frighten him as the twilight deepened. `I haven't slept alone since just before I joined Inuyasha and Mama, all those years ago when Papa died. Tears came again, accompanied by a small whimper.

 

`No! Inuyasha wouldn't cry. He would be brave! I have to be brave!'

 

Twilight gave way to true night and, even with his youkai eyesight, the dark shadows seemed to loom threateningly in the light breeze. A rustle of movement in the forest nearby startled him and he turned wide eyes in the direction of the sound, tense and ready to run if he had to. “What was that? I wish Inuyasha was here!' He nearly collapsed in relief as Kirara appeared in her neko form and trotted up to him.

 

“Mew? Raaoow mew?”

 

“I don't know, Kirara! Sango and the others, they all went through the well!” He tried hard not to pout but he couldn't help whining, “And I didn't get to go with them, either.”

 

“Mraaoow? Prrmmmmraow?” Kirara rubbed her head against his shoulder.

 

“Yeah, I hope so. But we'll just have to wait to see. I mean, they won't stay over there, will they? They won't forget about us?”

 

In answer Kirara brushed up against him again, purring soothingly. `As if My-Sango or the others could ever forget about me! We should just be patient and wait. A Neko learns early how to be patient; one cannot rush the hunt.'

 

“Well, I guess we should find somewhere to stay for the night.”

 

“Mrrr.”

 

“No, I don't want to go there! Kaede snores!”

 

Kirara was not about to let her kitten stay outside in the night. `Too many things can happen and I do not want to spend the night guarding My kitten. I need my nap, after all, and it is more comfortable in the warmth of the home.' Her voice became more insistent.

 

“MRRR.”

 

“I won't! And you can't make me!”

 

Kirara arched her back, hissing. “MRRRRRR!”

 

Shippo turned away from her and crossed his arms. “No!”

 

`Well. If he is going to act like a kitten, I will treat him as one.' Transforming into her youkai form, she picked the startled kitsune up by the scruff of the neck and began trotting back toward Kaede's house.

 

“Oww! Kirara! Stop it! Let me down!”

 

Kirara ignored the kitten. `He doesn't know what is best.' She wrinkled her nose at his smell. `He also needs a bath. Well, I can take care of that, too.'

 

Dropping him by the front door of Kaede's house, she placed a paw on the kitsune to hold him down. Gently, with the ease of long practice, she began to wash his tear-stained face. He resisted at first, pushing at her jaw with his hands and growling at her, but as she firmly persisted, he gave up and tolerated her ministrations.

 

“I'd rather take a bath with Kagome, Kirara.” She gave a short growl and swiped hard at a dirt stain. “Ow!” He protested her rough tongue by pushing at it with his hands. “You're being mean!”

 

Kirara purred soothingly and the fight went out of him as he gave a fatigued sigh. She lifted her paw from his torso just as Kaede opened the door to her house, looking out at the duo. “Shippo! I had thought that ye….” Her eyes widened as she saw Kirara's youkai form. “Kirara?” She faced Shippo and put her hands on her hips. “Where are Sango and Miroku, Shippo? Are they hurt?”

 

“Nobody's hurt. They just left me,” Shippo pouted, but the effect was ruined as he gave a huge yawn.

 

“Prrrrt.” Kirara began cleaning the paw that had held him down.

 

`They would never willingly leave Shippo alone and Kirara does not seem worried, even though she is in her youkai form. Where are they?' Kaede frowned. “Come inside and tell me what happened!” She turned back to the inside of her hut and Shippo followed, his head drooping.

 

`Good. The kitten will stay with My-Kaede now and I can take a nap.' Kirara transformed back to her neko form and trotted into the home to find her favorite, comfortable perch—a shelf above Kaede's herb collection that Sango had covered with a soft fabric when it became clear that the nekomata preferred to nap there. `I will keep watch just in case, but I do love a padded perch.' Leaping up, she wrapped her tails around her and watched through half-closed eyes, listening quietly as the sad little kitsune explained the events at the well to Kaede. The elderly miko heaved a sigh as he finished and helped him gather some bedding and bits of the human's clothing. `My-Kaede is almost as wise as a Neko. She understands that My-Shippo needs their scents for comfort.'

 

Kaede helped the kit place his wilting flower in some water next to Kagome's rolled up bedding and patted him on the head, pushing him gently toward his bed. “Ye should sleep now, Shippo. They will probably return in the morning.”

 

Shippo growled softly and buried himself in his makeshift nest. `They left me, but at least Kirara and Kaede are here. I miss Mama, though. I miss all of them! I hope they come back!' He fell asleep almost immediately, tired out and forlorn.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Shippo woke up before the sun, startled awake by a nightmare of a giant youkai swallowing Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango whole. He sat up abruptly with a gasp of alarm as their faded scents coupled with his sleep fogged brain made him think for a horrifying moment that the dream was real. `My family! It ate…! Oh.' He gave a full-body shiver and sat blinking in the twisted bedding, piecing together the memories of the previous evening.

 

`They all disappeared down the well…my whole family. I don't know if they'll ever come back!' Fighting back tears he wrapped his arms tightly around his legs and placed a quivering chin on his knees.

 

`I was so happy gathering flowers for Mama. I knew she'd come back quickly `cause Baka Inuyasha got to go with her. He never lets her stay in the future too long, not when there are Jewel shards to collect.' He raised his head and stared at the rather wilted bloom that he had picked the night before; a talisman for their safe return. `Mama's last flower…I'll show it to her when she gets back. I will!'

 

Kaede gave a loud snore and turned restlessly in her sleep, mumbling incoherently. He grimaced and burrowed back into the bedding, bringing the clothing that carried the trace scents of Sango, Miroku, and Kagome close to his face. He took a deep breath, seeking comfort in the familiar smells. `There's nothing of Inuyasha's, though. Stupid baka. He knows how important scent is to me! Maybe I could go outside? His scent is all over in the trees around here, just like Papa's used to surround our den…I guess it's more important for a male to leave his scent outside so that other youkai know that it's your territory.'

 

He was startled out of his reverie as Kaede snored loudly again and he tossed back the covers. `I might as well get up. Their scents are fading and it'll be light soon anyway. Maybe they're on their way back already!' He clambered out of bed and trotted to the door, pushing the bamboo cane screen aside to peer outside. He took a deep breath and was reassured by the familiar scent of Inuyasha permeating the still air. `I won't tell him, but it makes me feel better.' He slipped out into the waning night.

 

Kirara watched him go, then extended her paws out in front of her and stuck her hind end in the air. `Ah, there is nothing like a delicious morning stretch.' Shaking each front paw, she delicately leaped down and padded after Shippo in the pre-dawn dark.

 

She caught up with him as he cautiously entered the well's meadow and the hackles on the back of her neck rose as she delicately sniffed the air. `Pfffffft Hhhsssss was here but he left, hours ago.'

 

“Kirara. Do you smell…Sesshoumaru?” The kitsune sounded frightened.

 

“Prraoow.” Kirara nonchalantly began washing her paws. `I will not worry the kitten, but I must tell Mmrrowhhsssaa when he returns.'

 

Satisfied, Shippo trotted over to the well and peered in. `Come back! Please?' The dark hole remained silent and still.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Miles away, closer to Mount Fuji, a barrier pulsed softly around a small campsite. The miko responsible for the magic had not slept all night. She shifted slightly, watching over a young man barely into the gangly, awkward stage of teenage growth as he slept soundly on his bedroll.

 

She sighed and looked up at the brilliant stars, seeking the end of the interminable night. `Soon it will be dawn, but let him sleep. We talked well past midnight; hopefully he understands who resides in this body and why our plans must change now.' She took a deep breath and sought inner peace, concentrating on the meditative state that she had taught the youth earlier. `I coached him in the ways of the Eight Fold Path to try to help him heal.' Anger at his condition kept her from reaching the emotional calm necessary to meditate; she sighed again. `He has so much pain to overcome! He should have been helped when he first began to travel with this strange body but the feelings of hate and betrayal that fueled it were too strong.'

 

She stirred the embers of the small fire, controlling her breathing and using techniques to banish anger that she had learned from her sensei long ago.

 

`I am absolutely sure that Kikyou did not know what problems her actions would cause when she stole a portion of my soul from the Shikon no Tama. She was unprepared for me.'

 

She mused on the odd circumstances that had led to her awakening in the clay body. Kikyou had stolen a portion of her soul for her own uses, but as the Shikon Jewel became increasingly corrupted by Naraku more of her soul was driven out and followed the connection to this husk; this creation of memories and fragments of a soul powered by the stolen energies of other lives. For a short time after she became aware of the transfer there had been a battle of wills because Kikyou's motivation was still strong.

 

`After all, the fragments of soul left to her were those that carried vengeance, betrayal, and hatred. They are powerful emotions, but not potent enough to dominate the miko who balances the aspects of the Shikon Jewel.' Midoriko sighed and adjusted the position of the strange body. `The Jewel. My creation, my fault, born in an act of desperation as my powers ebbed. Why didn't I See it? Why did I make the wrong choice? What did I miss Seeing so that Kagome and the others now have this horrible fate before them?'

 

She sighed, readjusting the inert body to a semblance of her meditation posture. `I made the wrong choice. I was a Time Lord and a trained and experienced miko, but I failed. Now I have a chance to correct the wrong I did. I hope that Kagome will be strong enough.'

 

Her body twitched and Midoriko strengthened her resolve. Kikyou had finally understood and had chosen to sleep beneath Midoriko's will, but she still lurked beneath.

 

`I am in control of this husk now, unshackled by the jyaki of the hanyou who attacked me so long ago.' She stared at the glow emanating from the young man's shoulder. `There is work to do.'

She stared up at the sky again, noting the pale crepuscular rays that dimmed the glow from the stars.

 

`It is time. Time to destroy the Shikon no Tama.'

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Translations: Audi et alteram partem - Hear the other side too (Listen to both sides of a story).

 

Nekomata: Japanese, a mythological creature believed to evolve from domestic cats. After a cat reached ten years of age, its tail would slowly split into two tails, and the cat would develop magical powers which increased with age and wisdom.

 

Mmrrowhhsssaa and Pfffffft Hhhsssss: Neko; translation later in the story.

 

Thank you RPW for being my beta!