InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inu Yasha Themes ❯ Stepping into the Light ( Chapter 3 )

Stepping into the Light

 

For the three years she had lived in her own world, she had believed many things - that Miroku and Sango would get married and have children; that Kohaku would heal enough to find his path in life; that the bond forming between Inuyasha and his brother would not break despite its infant fragility. That Inuyasha would wait for her.

She hadn't expected a broken bowstring.

Somehow, just as Inuyasha had been pushed through the well to his own time by her battered emotions, her bow had gone with him. He had been left alone to guard the well and the bow for three years, despite the fact neither seemed to work anymore. Kaede had speculated that such emotional flux had shattered a bowstring that was deeply connected to Kagome's heart. Now she was receiving formal training Kagome had suggested a strong hemp replacement. Kaede had disapproved; the original string had been made from silk, and that, Kaede believed, was the most fitting replacement for this unique bow.

And so Kagome was here, once more climbing Mount Azusa's steps, watching the mist as it shaped itself according to the deepest insecurities of her heart. What, she wondered, would her test be this time?

She had no fear that her feelings for Kikyou would be tested again; she and her predecessor had long ago made peace. She had faced her greatest fear in the belly of the jewel's dark aura, and although traumatised by it for three years, Kagome was confident that this issue would also not be exploitable. Her steps slowed. Was there anything left that could taint her heart with enough uncertainty that she would be prevented from obtaining the silken string she sought?

Ahead of her, the mist coalesced, taking shape. Kagome paused, waiting for what she knew must come.

`You again, huh?' the formless guardian of the Azusa shrine lowered its sleeves, revealing its face.

Revealing nothing at all.

Kagome stared. `Wh-what's the meaning of this?' she whispered, uncomprehending. For a face that mirrored her most hidden heart to reflect nothing at all, as if empty… Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Reopening them, she stared at the spectral face. Like a breeze rippling across the surface of a pond, the features shivered, briefly taking form.

Kikyou.

`No,' Kagome objected. `Nothing lingers between Kikyou and me. Nothing you could use.'

It was then that she realised the face hadn't settled into Kikyou's features, it was moving on, morphing.

Hitomiko.

Unsettled, Kagome watched as the expression slid back into its unformed state, the body morphing instead. Recognition escaped her as a soft gasp. The excessively long hakama, the old-fashioned armour, the flowing black hair; a face lost in enigmatic shadow…

Midoriko.

At first, it didn't make any sense. Three powerful miko, separated by time and bound by the fate of the Shikon no Tama - Hitomiko, a powerful miko brought low by Naraku's dark schemes, yet still able fight him off long enough to teach Kagome something valuable about herself and her abilities; Kikyou, guardian of the jewel and a miko without peer… except for Midoriko herself, half the soul of the Shikon no Tama; a miko of unrivalled fame and power.

Again, mist swirled into nothing before repeating the cycle and Kagome's head bowed slightly as she understood the guardian's game. `That nothing-face,' she told the spirit, lifting her head decisively, `It's not me anymore. Maybe it never was.' Calmly she stepped forward. For one moment, the featureless expression mirrored her own before dissipating into the wind, leaving the way ahead clear for her to complete her journey.

It had bothered her, coming to her training so late, playing the same catch-up game she'd played at school when Naraku had still lived. At first, it had felt like she'd always be one step behind, forever lost in the shadows cast by greater, better trained, miko than she could ever be. But Naraku was gone now; the jewel that had bound them all was no more. The path she walked was her own, and it had never been - would never be - as lonely as the path walked by these three miko that had touched her life. It was the difference between them and her, the difference that made the path she walked unique... but not inferior. The last of the mist dissolved, leaving behind only the solid weight of a silk bowstring… and a sunlight that was strong enough to chase the last of the shadows away.

 

 

 

FIN