InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Journey of the soul: The panther devas' plot ❯ King and queen ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the actual work of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own them in any way.

 

Special acknowledgment: Many thanks to Neko Kiki for correcting this chapter :).

 

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Chapter 13: King and queen

 

Shaking off her umbrella hat for what seemed the thousandth time that day, Karura shivered when a raindrop incidentally found its way down her exposed back. Hissing in annoyance, the woman promptly righted herself and resumed her walk, trying her best to ignore her sloshing sandals as well as her drenched clothing.

 

The weather had been like this for the last two days, which was not helping the group's morale at all. With Kikyo still trying to find her own path, Inuyasha still angry at Shunran for her little trick two days ago and the said panther with an arm practically unusable, that left only her able to fight at full potential, which was not a good thing. Though, now that she thought about it, a good fight might be just what everyone needed to get their anger out of their system.

 

"Please don't tell me your mood just started mirroring our two alphas," said Shunran when she saw Karura's contrite expression.

 

"Oh don't worry. I still have a long way to reach that bottom. But I must say, being soaked through isn't really improving my mood."

 

"Well, look on the bright side. It could be late fall."

 

"Yeah but if it were late fall, I'd be huddled inside a warm hut in front of a comfortable fire, not traveling the countryside like I'm doing right now."

 

"Just get yourself a coat like mine, water doesn't get through that," giggled Shunran.

 

"Now there's an idea. Would you mind explaining to me how exactly you managed to get your hands on your coat?"

 

"Well, it's all in the material. You humans use plain tissue to make your clothes, we use stuff that's a lot more resistant like magical fur or hair."

 

"So basically, all I have to do is find a youkai willing to lend me his fur or his hair and then make it into a garment... yeah, I can see that happening," shot back the woman sardonically.

 

Both girls couldn't help but burst into giggling fits at this. "Who knows, maybe you'll find one friendly enough."

 

"Yeah... and maybe I'll sprout a second head too," snorted Karura wryly. "By the way, what is your clothing made of? I couldn't help but notice it sort of... fixed itself."

 

"That would be a water sprite's hair. Light, warm, resistant... and also perfectly waterproof, which is a definite plus considering the weather we're having."

 

"Especially if you're a cat... right?"

 

"Oh? And what's that supposed to mean?"

 

"Oh nothing... just that you're the first cat I've ever met that's not bothered by water at all."

 

Shunran let out an indignant huff at this. "Well, you're lucky I'm in a good mood today, otherwise I just might have killed you for calling me a cat. But if you really must know, it's true our lower-class counterparts do not like water. We however, have evolved beyond such silly instincts and are perfectly capable of taking baths just like you humans do... and even enjoy it."

 

"Well, I'll hold you up to that. The next hot spring we come across, I want to see you dunk under."

 

"Is that a challenge?"

 

"What do you think?" replied Karura with a mischievous smirk.

 

"Very well then... but if I dunk under, so do you. We'll see who can hold her breath the longest."

 

"Now that sounds like fun... but you'd better prepare yourself, I have a lot of breath to spare."

 

"Funny... so do I," shot back Shunran with a feral smirk.

 

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"It simply means this path wasn't meant for you to follow."

 

Those words rang on and on inside Kikyo's head, taunting her, teasing her and ultimately making her crazy. Who was she? Where should she go? What should she do? So many questions... and so little answers.

 

Everything used to be so simple back then. She was a miko, she was supposed to heal people and protect them. Youkai were her enemies and she should repel them with all the strength she could muster. Now... she herself had partly transformed into a youkai by ingesting Inuyasha's blood. Her behavior was changing, her feelings too. She acted like an alpha female protecting her pack... and she even went so far as to heal Shunran despite her being what she was.

 

"No longer a miko... no longer a human... what on earth am I?" she reflected, feeling her heart clench painfully in her chest. "An abomination of nature brought forth by a cruel twist of fate? A being forever condemned to dance the rope between two universe without ever truly being part of any of them? What am I? Who am I?"

 

A ray of light streaking through the sky followed almost immediately by a loud clap of thunder momentarily interrupted her musing by bringing the image of Kaede to her mind. Surprised by this fact, it took her a moment to realize why exactly she had thought of her sister at a time like this.

 

"That's right, you never did like thunder did you Kaede? You claimed it was a sign the heavens were angry at us," she reflected, smiling despite herself.

 

Her moment of bliss was short lived however as a pang of sudden longing struck her hard. "Kaede... how are you doing? Are you ill? Do you eat well? How I wish I was with you right now. You always did your utmost to help me... and I just know now wouldn't be any different."

 

"Kikyo, meet your new sister, Kaede."

 

The miko couldn't help but blink in surprise as the memory played itself in her mind. She, gaping at the minuscule form of the infant sleeping in the crook of her mother's arms. She timidly asking if she could take her in her arms... and then the joy and utter delight she had felt upon cradling the baby against her. And then the surge of warmth and love when her baby sister had closed her tiny fist around her finger.

 

"How could I forget this?" she reflected, unable to believe such a precious moment had slipped away from her mind.

 

And precious it had been indeed, because shortly after that, she had started training to become a miko and that had meant spending long periods away from her family because of her training. That she could remember however. The meditations, the physical trials, the spiritual excercises, the studies... all so incredibly difficult and demanding that they left room for nothing else.

 

"This uniform... I used to be so proud of it. Yet... because of it... I forgot... one of the most precious moments of my life. Nothing can possibly justify paying such a high price! Nothing!"

 

And so, just like that, without any big screams of anger nor any tears of anguish, Kikyo definitively turned away from the path of a miko and started her journey into the unknown.

 

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Inuyasha was angry... at least, that's what he would have liked to believe himself, but such wasn't exactly the case. Sure, he was still somewhat bitter toward Shunran for her little trick two days prior, but that wasn't really what bothered him. What bothered him... was Kikyo.

 

When Karura had exited the cave and found him stuck in standing condition and unable to move, she had of course burst out laughing and started teasing him like there was no tomorrow. That much he had expected. However, when Kikyo came, alerted by the noise... that was something else altogether.

 

--Flashback--

 

"What's going on out here?" questioned the miko irritably.

 

"Well, it seems Inuyasha here... is stuck in standing position," giggled Karura, earning herself a growl from the hanyou.

 

"Stuck in standing position? What do you mean?"

 

"I asked Shunran what sort of fighting ability she had and the stupid wench decided to give me a demonstration! Now I'm stuck like that for at least an hour!"

 

"I... see," answered Kikyo, her eyes glittering.

 

Moments later, the miko's shoulders started shaking slightly as a snort escaped her lips. Under the hanyou's stupefied gaze, she actually started coughing in a vain attempt to contain her rising laughter. Finally, unable to take it anymore, she let out a small girlish giggle that actually lit up her entire face.

 

"Well... have fun... 'standing' guard Inuyasha," she blurted between snorts before she too walked away, obviously trying to spare him the vision of her doubling over in laughter.

 

--End flashback--

 

Seeing Kikyo actually enjoying his predicament stung... quite a lot. At least at first. But when he actually started thinking about it, little details began to register. The way her face lit up when she had laughed, the way her eyes shone. For a split-second, she had actually looked like a completely different person... and he secretly found himself wanting to see what else Kikyo kept hidden inside.

 

And then, he had found himself getting angry and frustrated that a complete stranger had managed to make Kikyo laugh when he who had known her for over a year had not been able to draw so much as a snort from her.

 

"If I can't even make her smile... am I even worthy of her?" he couldn't help but ask himself.

 

For the first time since he had met Kikyo, the hanyou found himself actually worried about their relationship. So far, he had always felt his bond with the miko was something strong and true, something made unbreakable by the one person who had tried to actually break it. Yet now that he actually thought about it, what exactly did he have to offer to the woman? He had absolutely nothing. All he really did have was himself, a hanyou shunned and rejected by everyone and everything.

 

"She deserves someone better... someone who will make her happy."

 

That simple idea was enough to turn his stomach upside down and make him want scream in agony... but deep down, he knew this was the right thing to do. If anyone deserved to be happy in this world, it was Kikyo... and as much as he hated to admit it, that happiness did not lie with him.

 

"I'll protect her... until she finds the person who can make her smile again... I'll protect her... and then... I'll go."

 

Never in his life had the hanyou ever thought that doing the right thing might hurt so much. But to see Kikyo smile again, he would do anything. He would face the flames of hell, he would sell his soul to the devil himself if it could bring but a moment of happiness to the miko. To hear her giggle ring through the air again, he would do the impossible, he would... give her up.

 

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Sitting in front of a small fire inside a cave they had been lucky enough to find, Karura watched as Inuyasha extended his hand and grabbed the fish closest to him absently.

 

"You should show better manners Inuyasha," interrupted Kikyo before he could take his first bite.

 

The hanyou barely glanced at the miko as she said this, yet he did stop his movement and raise a questioning eyebrow.

 

"Since Shunran caught our dinner, she should get first pick."

 

"You want it?" he asked the said panther youkai.

 

Karura watched as the panther youkai blinked in surprise before catching herself.

 

"Go ahead, there's plenty to go around," she brushed off with a shrug.

 

Shortly after, the panther youkai looked at her questioningly, a sure sign that she too had seen the hurt that had flashed in Kikyo's eyes when the hanyou had ignored her jab. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was happening and from the looks of it, the problem did not lie on the miko's part.

 

"Damn, these two are going to make me crazy!" thought Karura angrily, knowing it would be up to her to fix things up before they got out of hand.

 

Unfortunately for her, the 'get out of hand' part arrived a lot sooner than she had expected. Unwilling to leave things alone it seemed, Kikyo stubbornly kept trying to get a rise out of the hanyou... without succeeding even once. After the woman's fifth attempt, Karura simply couldn't take it anymore. Throwing what was left of her fish to the ground, she stood up and roughly pulled the hanyou out of the cave with her.

 

Inuyasha yelped in surprise and tried to protest, but when he saw the look the woman directed at him, he wisely decided to shut up for the moment. They walked a for a short distance before Karura violently shoved him against a tree.

 

"All right dog breath, spill!" she ordered, her voice iron hard.

 

"Spill what!?" shot back the hanyou defensively.

 

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! Now spill!"

 

"I don't have to tell you anything!"

 

Now that was the wrong thing to say because Inuyasha suddenly felt the sharp end of a sword press against his throat, the senki contained within burning his skin slightly.

 

"Now listen you half-witted-pea-brained-hanyou! We're heading straight for Naraku right now! Unless our team functions properly, we won't stand a ghost of a chance against him. Now you can either tell me what's wrong right now... or I can lock you up with Kikyo until you two work things out. It's your choice!"

 

"What happens between the two of us isn't any of your fucking business!" growled back Inuyasha, his eyes narrowing dangerously despite his predicament.

 

"That's where you're wrong!" countered the woman sharply. "If the relationship between you and Kikyo gets screwed up, then the entire team gets screwed up, thus making our chances of beating Naraku a big and enormous zero! Now tell me again this doesn't concern me!"

 

The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither willing to give in. The tension in the air became palpable and it even got to the point where even the surrounding forest seemed to hold its breath in expectation of the coming explosion. However, it never came because at this moment, fate decided to intervene.

 

"As right as your point might be Karura, the fact that you are minding business that is not your own is most definitively not," interrupted Kikyo, her voice icy cold.

 

Both human and hanyou whirled around and couldn't help but stiffen in fear at the look the miko directed their way.

 

"I... did not mean... to butt in... yet with us heading for... Naraku... we can't afford... for you two to..." stuttered Karura in a desperate effort to explain her actions.

 

"You don't believe Inuyasha and I are mature enough to work out our differences on our own?" questioned the miko, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

 

"NO!! That's not it... it's just... I didn't think... you'd understand... the full... meaning of... his gesture."

 

Karura saw Kikyo raise an eyebrow at this and almost sighed in relief when she saw her expression soften.

 

"You were right on almost every point Karura. Inuyasha and I are the pillars of this team and as such, it's necessary for both of us to be strong if we are to come out alive of this ordeal. You were right in wanting the two of us to work out our differences. You were right to find Inuyasha's behavior questionable and question him about it, though your methods were a bit forceful. But Karura... please understand that this is a highly personal issue you're dealing with. Next time something like this arise, all I ask is that you allow us a chance to try and work things out ourselves."

 

Letting out a long exhalation of relief, the woman looked down and shuffled her feet for a little while, not exactly knowing what to say. Kikyo was essentially right, her temper had gotten the best of her this time and she had tried to solve an issue that was not hers to resolve to begin with.

 

"I suppose I might have gotten a little carried away," she finally admitted somewhat grudgingly. "Next time something like this happens, I'll just throw you down a pit to force you two to work things out or something."

 

The miko couldn't help but shake her head wryly at this. "Original... but efficient, I guess. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a little conversation with a certain hanyou," she commented, her voice hardening toward the end.

 

"Yeah, fine. Just make sure there's enough of him left to face Naraku. As much as I hate to admit it, he can be useful at times," shot back Karura with a wide grin.

 

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" exclaimed Inuyasha indignantly.

 

He made to follow after the retreating woman, however his way was immediately blocked by Kikyo... and judging from her expression, she was none too happy about the whole situation.

 

"Now then, mister I-suddenly-decided-to-ignore-you hanyou, would you mind shedding some light on this whole matter?"

 

The said hanyou looked hesitant for a few seconds, but then his usual front slammed back into place and he turned away with an angry "Keh!"

 

"You would deny me an explanation?"

 

Steeling himself against the harsh words he was about to yell, he whirled around and glared at the woman with the fiercest scowl he could muster.

 

"Damn right I deny you an explanation! But if you really must know, you're not worth my time woman, that's what I've just realized!"

 

He saw Kikyo's eyes widen in surprise and he felt a part of him die when he saw the hurt and betrayal that followed. However, that too quickly vanished, replaced by confusion... and then anger.

 

"You're lying!"

 

The words cut through the air and demolished all of his already precarious defenses in an instant. Eyes wide with disbelief, he stumbled backward straight into a tree as the woman advanced on him.

 

"The truth Inuyasha! Tell me the truth! Or am I so low a creature that I don't even deserve the truth!?"

 

"You... I..."

 

"TELL ME!!!!!" she screamed, her face an inch from his.

 

Many things happened to the hanyou then. The position they were in had brought Kikyo's body dangerously close to his and though her whole being radiated fury... it also radiated warmth, a warmth that he couldn't help but respond to. Then there was the fact that the miko's mouth was but millimeters away from his own, thus allowing him to practically taste her breath, something that sparked a wave of uncontrollable desire to wash through him.

 

He himself couldn't understand his own reaction. How could he possibly be deathly scared... and at the same time burning with desire? That wasn't something he would have thought possible... yet there it was. He wanted nothing more right now than to wrap his arms around Kikyo and devour her lips in a searing kiss that would make both of their heads spin.

 

All lost in his desperate struggle for control, it took him a moment to realize that Kikyo wasn't moving, nor was she saying anything and... was it his imagination or was she coming closer? Rationally, he knew that if he really wanted to go through with his plan, he would have to push Kikyo away right now. However, everything was working against him. His heart, his mind... even his body refused to do this simple gesture. And so, he finally gave in, cursing his own heart for being so weak... and at the same time blessing it.

 

The kiss in itself was totally different than the first one they had shared a lifetime ago on the pier. This one was hot, passionate, searing even. Both clung to each other and tried to devour the other's lips as if their lives depended on it. At a certain point that none of the two could remember clearly, their tongues started battling together in a fierce waltz of dominance that neither seemed willing to concede. Finally, it was nature that won and in a sharp jerk, the couple broke away from each other, both panting and actually blinking away the dots clouding their mutual vision.

 

After that, an uncomfortable silence fell on the couple as both hanyou and miko tried to come to term with what had just happened. Kikyo looked down at her hands, as if not believing herself capable of the gesture she had just initiated. Inuyasha shook his head to try and clear the pounding of blood in his ears. Neither spoke, neither even looked at the other for fear of what would come after. Still, as the minutes ticked by, it became more and more obvious that things needed to be clarified.

 

"Kikyo..." hesitantly started Inuyasha, but he stopped when he couldn't find anything to say.

 

"Inuyasha... am I... really... not worth your time?" questioned the miko, visibly as awkward as he was.

 

"No..."

 

"Then... why?"

 

"I don't think I have what it takes to make you happy."

 

"Even after... just now?"

 

"I'm a hanyou. Think of the life you'll be forced to live if you do decide to come with me! You deserve a lot better than a puny half-breed like me!"

 

Inuyasha wasn't sure what happened next, but suddenly stars danced in front of his eyes and he probably would have fallen had he not been already leaning against a tree. Shaking his head to clear it, he saw that Kikyo was in the process of massaging her right hand carefully. Gingerly touching his jaw, he was able to feel a slight soreness on his jaw where the blow had connected.

 

"Did you just..." he stuttered in obvious surprise.

 

"No I didn't! Karura whizzed out of the cave and hit you while you weren't looking!" snapped the woman irritably. "Of course I just punched you, you stupid idiotic fool of a hanyou! And I almost broke my hand too!"

 

"But... I... you..."

 

"Shut up and listen! If I ever hear you demean yourself like that again, I'm going to do more than punch you! And get that ridiculous notion of you not having what it takes to make me happy out of your head will you!? I love you just the way you are and if that kiss just now wasn't enough to convince you of this then I don't know what will!"

 

"W... Well I suppose... that idea was a bit... ridiculous now that I think about it," stuttered the hanyou, visibly shaken by the woman's outburst.

 

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other. Now let's get back inside, I for one would very much like to finish my meal while some of it still remains."

 

Inuyasha could only nod hesitantly as he fell into step behind Kikyo. As he was about to enter the cave however, something Kikyo had said suddenly registered and made him stop dead in his tracks.

 

"I love you just the way you are"

 

Blinking in surprise, he could only gape as the full meaning of those words sank in. "Just the way I am? But then... Kikyo do you still want me to turn human when we recover the jewel?"

 

As he watched the miko sit down in front of the fire and start eating one of the remaining fish absently, he was able to notice her pose for the first time. Back straight, eyes sharp, chin slightly upturned, she did not look the slightest bit like the tame and passive woman he had met over a year ago.

 

"A queen..."

 

The thought had come to him unbidden, yet he instantly knew he was right. Kikyo was a woman born to command... and the fact that she had ingested his youkai blood had absolutely nothing to do with it. Those qualities belonged to her and her alone. His blood had just dragged them out of their dormancy and brought them to the surface.

 

Just then, she turned her eyes to him and raised a questioning eyebrow. Words were not needed at this point, he knew exactly what she was asking him. And he also knew exactly how to answer.

 

Without wasting another instant, he decidedly made his way beside the miko and sat down beside her, his pose mirroring her own. In front of him, Karura and Shunran glanced at each other and then looked back at them before inclining their head in a gesture of both respect and deference.

 

The hanyou answered with a nod of his own, unable to fully suppress the satisfied smirk that somehow found its way on his lips. Beside him, he could feel Kikyo's body positively radiating pride and satisfaction, something that only served to heighten his own feeling of elation.

 

Yes, at this very moment, a queen had just found her king... and the team that had been falling apart not moments before suddenly found itself back on track and ready to face anything... including Naraku.

 

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Author's note: Well, unexpected things can happen during a rainy day, right? Anyway, see you next chapter.