InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kikyo's lonely journey ❯ Heroes ( Chapter 23 )

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

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Chapter 22: Heroes

 

Sitting on top of Kirara's back Susune took a deep breath and stretched her sore body as much as she could. She had given up on the idea of traveling by foot quite some time ago. She had pushed herself so hard in Kuro's hideout that she was simply too tired to walk on her own. As she looked at the perfectly blue sky, she couldn't help but smile.

 

Kuro was now dead, meaning that the threat upon her and her friends was gone. Her dislocated shoulder had been set back into place, meaning that she had the use of her left arm again, though in a somewhat limited way. And what's more, through a twist of fate no one could have predicted, Kikyo was human again. That had been the biggest surprise of all, and also one that made her heart swell with joy. Kikyo wasn't different anymore, she was just like everyone else. That meant she wouldn't have to isolate herself anymore, that meant she wouldn't have to consume dead souls to survive.

 

"Dead souls?" she reflected as a sudden thought entered her mind. "I wonder..."

 

"Kikyo-sa... ma?" she began but trailed off as the person she wanted to speak to was not where she had been when she had last seen her.

 

Her question drew the rest of the group's attention and everyone stopped at once when they realized that the miko wasn't following them anymore. She was leaning against a tree a short distance back, panting heavily and clutching her side in obvious pain.

 

"Kikyo!" they all exclaimed upon spotting the woman.

 

Almost instantly, Kagome and Sango were at the laboring miko's side, helping her sit down comfortably in the shade. The schoolgirl extracted a bottle of water from her bag and offered it to Kikyo who promptly opened it and gulped the fresh liquid avidly.

 

"Kikyo, what's the matter?" asked Sango worriedly.

 

"I... apologize... for this," answered the woman somewhat sheepishly. "It would seem... that my new body... is more fragile than I thought."

 

"What do you mean?" inquired the schoolgirl, confused.

 

"I am drenched in sweat, my wound is burning, my lungs cannot seem to take in enough air... And last but not least, my feet are killing me. So in essence I am quite positively... exhausted," explained Kikyo, her features alight with one of the brightest smile anyone had ever seen in their life.

 

"That smile," mused Susune, feeling her own heart swell in her chest.

 

She could hardly believe it. This was the smile she had been looking for. Bright, full, happy... alive! It was such a radical change from the woman who had kept everything locked inside, who had denied herself the right to be happy. The woman that now sat before her was so different from the one she had met what seemed like a lifetime ago that if she hadn't been with her the whole time she would not have recognized her.

 

The changes were indeed subtle, yet they were there nonetheless. Kikyo's feature had relaxed enormously, changing the shape of her face, softening the angles and giving her a gentler look. Her eyes had lost their cold and calculating expression, replaced with one that was definitively warmer and more carefree. What's more, the tightness around the orbit that had given her her severe and serious air was no more, making her look extremely pretty if not downright beautiful.

 

But of course, there are those who have a way of shattering a perfect picture without knowing it.

 

"Idiot! Why the fuck didn't you say anything?" barked Inuyasha angrily.

 

"Osuwari!" snapped back Kagome, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You stay out of this Inuyasha or I'll sit you until your back breaks!"

 

Shaking her head in discouragement, Sango turned her attention back to the miko and grinned knowingly. "You did that on purpose did you?" asked the demon slayer and Kikyo blushed.

 

"I... suppose you could say this," admitted the woman. "It has been so long since I felt anything that I... simply did not want to miss this opportunity. I apologize if I made you all worry for nothing."

 

"Well it is understandable considering what you have been through, but still you should be careful in the future. You have just recovered your human body so it would be a shame to lose it so soon," replied Miroku levelly.

 

"Yes, you are right Miroku," agreed the miko with a sheepish smile. "That is why I believe I will now have to appeal to Kirara's generosity."

 

Hearing her name, the feline youkai let out a small roar of acknowledgment and made her way to the waiting miko. Once she was near enough, Sango and Kagome both helped the woman to her feet and settled her comfortably on the giant cat's back, right behind Susune. And, with one last reassurance that she was indeed all right, the progression resumed. Just as the group settled into their cruising speed, the ten years old's eyebrows twitched as she remembered the question she had yet to ask the miko behind her.

 

"Say Kikyo-sama, can I ask you something?" she inquired.

 

"Of course," answered the woman with a smile.

 

"I know it may sound silly but... now that you don't need to eat souls to survive, do you still have control of your soul-collectors?" questioned Susune.

 

Naraku reappearing in front of her and laughing maniacally would probably have had less of an impact than the child's simple question. Kikyo felt like a bomb of guilt had exploded inside of her. For three years now, they had been the only beings that had never left her side. The only companions she could really call her own. How many times had they coiled affectionately around her? How many times had she petted them on the head? And now... a few hours of humanity and she had forgotten all about them! How could she be so heartless?

 

Desperate to make things better, she opened her mind and called out to them, begging them to come. As the seconds passed, her efforts grew frantic. Even if she didn't need them to feed anymore, she still valued their presence. They were tame creatures who possessed no malice at all and most of all... she liked them. Finally, just as she was about to give up, she felt it, that ever familiar prickling sensation in the back of her neck that told her they were coming.

 

Opening her eyes, she looked up and, sure enough, there they were, circling lazily in the warm summer air. She extended her hand toward them and almost immediately one of them answered, flying down and wrapping itself around her in an all too familiar gesture.

 

"It would appear that they still answer to me," finally said Kikyo while petting the creature fondly on the head.

 

"I didn't realize you were so fond of them," commented Kagome when she saw the tender gesture.

 

"They have been following me faithfully since shortly after I was resurrected. It is only natural that I would grow to like them after a time," explained the woman.

 

"Indeed it is," agreed Miroku pensively. "Though I have to admit that I am rather puzzled as to the details of your first encounter with them."

 

"There isn't exactly that much of anything to say. When I was resurrected by Urasue, I was still under the grip of my hatred for Inuyasha and the two of us had a fight resulting in me falling down a cliff. I lost consciousness then and when I woke up at the edge of a river, they were there, hovering above me. I tried to chase them away at first, but they just kept following me no matter what I did, so I simply accepted them. And from acceptance, fondness was eventually born," summarized the miko, scratching the head of the soul-collector one last time before it went flying away.

 

"And what will you do with them Kikyo-sama?" inquired Susune.

 

"I believe I will keep them. Even though I do not need their soul-collecting skills anymore... I still appreciate their company very much," admitted Kikyo with a smile.

 

"Well, considering that our group is composed of two youkai, a perverted monk, a demon slayer, a girl from the future, a headstrong sensor, a resurrected miko and a temperamental hanyou... adding a few soul collectors will be like adding a drop of water to an already filled glass," replied Sango with a playful smirk.

 

"Well, as long as they don't steal our souls while we sleep, I believe we can get used to them," agreed Kagome.

 

"Do not concern yourself. They collected souls mainly because I asked them to in the first place. And even then, they are incapable of stealing the soul of someone who is still alive," reassured the miko.

 

"Speaking of souls Kikyo-sama. Are you and Kagome-sama still connected?" inquired Miroku again.

 

"Actually no. The jewel extracted what was left of me from Kagome, thus breaking our link. Though I have to admit it has proved useful... I cannot say I particularly miss the buzzing that went with it," answered the woman. "No offense to you Kagome."

 

"None taken. That buzzing was giving me headaches after headaches so I'm rather glad its gone and that both of us managed to survive. I was afraid one of us might disappear at some point, but in the end, we're both alive and well," replied the schoolgirl lightly.

 

"Your endless optimism never ceases to amaze me," commented the miko ruefully

 

"The moment you lose your smile is the moment your life begins to fall to pieces. If you can keep your spirit up then there's nothing you can't accomplish," shot back Kagome, grinning brightly for emphasis, causing everyone but Inuyasha to chuckle.

 

"And what if your life takes a turn for the worst and you can't smile anymore?" questioned Kikyo in an amused tone of voice.

 

"Well, that's easy," answered the schoolgirl her expression turning downright mischievous.

 

And then, before anyone could react, she jumped on Inuyasha's back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso to keep from falling down. Unprepared, the hanyou overbalanced and stumbled for two or three steps before he managed to recover.

 

"The fuck you think you're doing wench!" he barked irritably.

 

"You simply find someone to carry you until you're well enough to do it on your own," said Kagome, totally ignoring Inuyasha's last reply.

 

There was a second of silence as that last bit of information sank in... and then everyone burst out laughing. And as Inuyasha began twisting and turning in an effort to get Kagome off his back, it increased in volume drowning in its wake the hanyou's protest and cursing.

 

Finally, after a few minutes of pointless squirming, Inuyasha decided to attack the problem at the root. Firmly grabbing the schoolgirl's legs, he pried them off and yanked them backward, causing his unwanted charge to fly backward and fall unceremoniously on the ground.

 

"I'm not your packhorse wench!" he snapped angrily at the girl.

 

"Oh that's really too bad," pouted the girl, unaffected by her fall. "I like your back so much. It's so warm and comfortable."

 

The teasing was so blatantly obvious that the hanyou felt anger boil within him. He opened his mouth to badmouth the girl in front of him, but somehow, the words never quite made it out of his mouth. The so incredibly fake yet so incredibly cute expression Kagome was wearing at this very moment extinguished his anger before it even had time to manifest itself.

 

"Keh! Next time at least have the decency to ask," he muttered contritely before whirling around.

 

"Then can I?" immediately asked Kagome, her tone hopeful.

 

The hanyou froze in his tracks and whirled around incredulously. Surely the girl wouldn't have the audacity to...

 

"Pretty please?" she tried again, joining her hands in a praying gesture.

 

"You can..." he began, feeling anger and outrage swell inside of him.

 

"Pretty please with sugar on top," she cut him, making her eyes watery and making her lower lip tremble slightly for an added effect.

 

Frustration boiled inside of him as he felt himself unwittingly give in to the girl's demands. Shooting a murderous look at his friends who were by now trembling with the effort of holding back their laughter, he turned around and lowered his stance, indicating his acceptance.

 

"Yay!!" exclaimed Kagome in an annoyingly childish voice before taking her appointed place.

 

That finally broke the dam and everyone exploded into helpless laughter, doubling over in mirth.

 

"I'm gonna kill you for that wench!" growled Inuyasha quietly.

 

"How about I make it up to you instead?" she whispered in his ear suggestively.

 

Immediately she saw the two triangles of fur on top of his head straighten in interest. "And what do you have in mind?" he questioned, feeling slightly hopeful despite himself.

 

"How about a few good boxes of ramen?" teased Kagome, knowing full well that this wasn't at all what the hanyou desired to hear.

 

"Gotta do better than that wench! You've pissed me off royally this time," he shot back, picking on to her game.

 

"Well then, how about... you and I under a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G," she chanted directly in his ear.

 

Her action was rewarded by a small tremor that coursed through Inuyasha's entire body. "Much better... but if you forget this then I really will kill you," he answered, smirking slightly at the prospect of a quiet evening spent alone with Kagome.

 

Having been to lost in their mirth to notice the silent exchange between the couple, the others were as such surprised when he turned around and spurred them onward again at a much faster pace than before.

 

"Did we just miss something?" asked Sango, immediately noticing the change of attitude between the couple.

 

"I do believe we have Sango my dear... I do believe we have," replied Miroku, though the wicked smile he wore on his face clearly said that he had a pretty good idea of what it was that they had just missed.

 

Seeing the expression, the demon slayer merely rolled her eyes skyward while Shippo shook his head and Kikyo smiled in amusement. Susune stared at the monk for a few seconds before understanding abruptly dawned on her. Hunching her shoulders in pure discouragement, she let out a long sigh.

 

"Does he ever think of anything else?" she asked to no one in particular.

 

"That's Miroku for you," answered Shippo wearily.

 

"Well, it could be worst," commented Kikyo, her expression serious.

 

"And what could be worst than a perverted monk?" asked Sango, intrigued.

 

"Well, he could be a perverted monk with a Lolita complex," replied the miko making everyone freeze completely in their tracks.

 

Incredulous stares slowly turned to the woman, as if they could not believe that she had made such a joke. And, after a few seconds of this intense scrutiny, the looks turned to Miroku instead, causing the poor monk to take a step back in sudden fear. Finally, as if answering to a hidden signal, everyone shuddered violently in disgust.

 

"Surely, you have all known me long enough to know that I am not afflicted by this vice," argued Miroku, trying desperately to save what was left of his reputation.

 

"True, but..." began Sango.

 

"... One can't help but imagine," finished Kagome with yet another shiver or repulsion.

 

******

 

Picking out a medicinal herb from her garden, Kaede smoothed its leaves gently before placing it in her basket and examining the position of the sun in the sky.

 

"Only a few hours of daylight left... they will not be returning today either it seems," she mused quietly to herself.

 

It had been four days now since the group had left to hunt down the mastermind behind the earlier attack on Susune and the village. Four days during which a growing anxiety had assailed her. True, it wasn't the first time she had been faced with a prolonged absence, but something about this one felt different. Maybe it was the fact that Kikyo was betting her life on this, maybe it was the fact that Susune was going with them, she didn't know. But one thing was for sure, she was beginning to grow increasingly restless.

 

As she was about to enter her hut, she cast one last glance at the road leading out of the village... and almost dropped her basket in relief. There they all were! The shapes approaching on the coming road were still indistinct but they were unmistakable. For a second, she had the childish urge to simply run to them, but she pushed it down, opting for a slow and dignified walk instead.

 

Apparently, she was not the only one to notice the arrival because many villagers were stopping what they were doing to stare at the approaching group with growing interest. Pretty soon, the people did not just stare at the party, they began to follow it as they came to her encounter. Turning her head slightly to the side, she noticed that the same phenomenon was happening behind her. So, the end result was that, when they finally did meet face to face, they were completely surrounded by a crowd of expectant people.

 

Visibly unsettled by the unexpected greeting, Inuyasha and the others were all looking left and right with puzzled glances.

 

"Kaede... would you mind explaining what is happening here?" questioned Kagome.

 

"You are forgetting that you were not the only one involved in the recent fight, everyone was. So naturally, everyone is eager to hear the outcome... including me," explained the old miko with a humorous smile.

 

Looking at each other, the members of the group consulted themselves silently, as if deciding who would speak up for them. Finally Sango shrugged and took a step forward.

 

"It's over everyone. We've killed the youkai responsible for the attack. We won," she announced loud enough for everyone to hear.

 

There was a second of stillness as her words settled in and then, a clapping sound broke the silence, followed quickly by another, and another. Pretty soon everyone was applauding and cheering so loudly that conversation became impossible.

 

Unused to such a treatment, the group just stared at the crowd, at a complete loss about what to do next. They eventually resorted to waving at the people, feeling rather uncomfortable with the hero treatment. In all honesty, they were all exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get some well deserved rest, but they couldn't very well leave could they?

 

And as the crowd of people began to draw inward, all wishing to hug or shake hands with the ones who had finally put an end to their torment, Kaede could not help but smile fondly at the group even though she could no longer see them.

 

Inuyasha, the headstrong hanyou, Kikyo her dear older sister. The two of them tricked by Naraku and forced to live through years of suffering. Sango the demon slayer and Susune the sensor. Both had lost their home, their family. Shippo, the kitsune youkai who had lost his parents to the thunder brothers. Miroku the perverted monk, cursed by the kazaana. Kagome, the girl from the future who had been forced to live a double life for years now.

 

"Fate brought you all together, pain fortified the bonds of friendship between you, giving birth to a strength far greater than any could imagine. You fought, you bled, you cried... and never received a single word of praise in return. So, just this once, accept this welcome. A welcome fit for people like you. A welcome fit for heroes. Because, whether you want it or not, that is what you really are," reflected Kaede before turning around and heading back toward her hut.