InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Thy Enemy ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
I decided to give an early update. I have a great feeling about this story and wanted to get Chapter 2 up quickly, so here you are!
Through a combination of research on Wikipedia, watching the anime, and facts provided by fellow author Fenikkusuken, I've got a couple errors to clear up over Kagome's weapon.
The weapon Kagome uses, I had previously identified as the Naginata of Kenkon and described as a dual-bladed sword that split into two longswords. I was wrong on all counts. First, the anime depiction of the Naginata has the blades much shorter and the handles much longer than a dual-bladed sword. Also, although they can be designed with two blades, actual naginatas have more in common design-wise with spears instead of swords and have only one blade.
So, in closing, the anime depiction of the Naginata wasn't a true naginata, and my description of it wasn't accurate either. For the purpose of maintaining a sense of canon, the weapon will be referred to be name, but its description in the first chapter has been altered slightly to reflect more accurately its appearance as I'm picturing it.
But, semantics of weapon names aside, the weapon functions the same as a two-bladed sword that can be split and wielded as two single blades. These two single blades, regardless of how they appeared in the anime, are more similar in my story to kodachi than longswords. Kodachi are typically 24 inches long (your average longsword is 36) and thus, if two kodachi joined at the handles to become a dual-bladed sword, it would be a fairly usable weapon. This is the version of the Naginata of Kenkon that my Kagome uses.
And for the record, the Naginata is a demonic weapon in the anime, not a holy one.
Love Thy Enemy
Chapter 2
Soft moans and mewls filled the room as he writhed beneath her, his gorgeous face drawn tight in an expression of shameless pleasure. She took in every glorious inch of the sight, revelling in the fact she was the one who had given him such sensations. She ground against him, lips drawn back in a smile as he surged beneath her, calling out her name.
“Kagome…Kagome!”
“Kagome!”
Kagome's eyes popped open and blinked rapidly as the husky, masculine voice she remembered became softer and higher pitched. She sat up and squinted as a loud pounding filled her quarters. Her vision cleared and she groaned. Damn. Back in her room. Again.
“Kagome, are you awake yet, you were due to report to the training center an hour ago!” the voice on the other side of her door yelled. Kagome lifted her eyebrows and yawned, wiping a hand down her face and collecting a thin sheen of sweat.
“Yeah, I'm awake,” she replied, flopping back against the pillow. “Just…had a bad dream.” Well, it would have been bad if she graded it on a curve compared to the others…
“Well let me in, the commander wants me to talk to you,” the voice ordered. Kagome sighed and stood up, grabbing her academy-issue robe from the chair by her bed and tying it around her half-nude body. She hadn't bothered to undress properly when she had come back from her mission just two hours before dawn, fatigue caught up with her and she just tossed her skirt onto the chair before collapsing on the mattress. Her commander wouldn't be pleased with such frivolous treatment of her uniform, but that was why she kept her door locked. She slid the bolt back and opened it.
“Oh. It's you,” she muttered, stepping back. Kikyo Itoshi followed her fellow miko into the room, casting a disinterested glance about the room. The mikos were allowed to decorate their personal quarters with personal items, provided there was room. While the lower-ranked cadets got a single bunk in a room of twenty-four, higher-ranking mikos got their own rooms. Kagome's wasn't exceptionally spacious, but it was large enough for a standard-issue desk, bed and exercise area with mat. There was also a small balcony. A television, computer or other recreational items were allowed, provided she could acquire them. Considering that soldiers didn't get paid much, they also didn't get access to such luxuries often.
“Don't sound too happy to speak to me,” Kikyo said dryly.
“No problem,” Kagome shot back, lying back in her bed. She hated being a soldier sometimes, the honors and the fame and the little extras here and there were nice, but she never got to sleep in. She preferred it back when the truce was still in effect. For more than one reason…
“If the battle this morning was too much for you, you should have put in a request for a change of duty while you rested,” Kikyo continued. “When one soldier fails their duty, the rest suffer.”
“I'll just have to find a way to live with that guilt,” Kagome sighed, staring at the ceiling. She knew Kikyo was right, the fight last night took a larger toll on her than she would have liked. Sure she had won, but she had to work hard for that victory. Inuyasha wasn't the bumbling swordsman waving around an overgrown fang like he was when she had first met him.
“The war has changed him. It's changed all of us,” she thought darkly, not sure how much she liked that information. She herself didn't know how the war started, she had made a mental note to ask her superiors but never got around to it. All she knew was that at some point, someone had drawn a line in the sand between the two miko and the youkai and little by little people drifted to one side or the other until one day the two began their fight. The majority of the humans didn't fight, sure many joined but most sided with the mikos for protection, and because they were at least human. The human cities were sometimes aligned, there were cities that sided with the youkai and others with the mikos. The neutral cities were just that. Under their laws, youkai and miko alike were not allowed to fight there, both could come and go as they pleased with proper clearance with the authorities but if either of the two met, any sort of fighting was prohibited. The two sides had an unspoken agreement to respect this neutrality and keep their fighting away from the cities - neither wanted to risk pissing off someone in power there and shifting their allegiance to the other side. Cities meant resources of new recruits, food and supplies. Better for a city to be neutral than an enemy.
Kagome felt sorry for the humans. They were the pawns in the war, the mikos and the youkai fighting an ancient war that normal mortals couldn't understand. The legacy of their ancient grudge traced back centuries. The old ways were still honoured but in time the two sides agreed to co-exist as holy and demonic powers waned and the time of the miko and the youkai ended. The last Kagome had heard the truce had begun sometime in the 1800s, but one hundred years was nothing to a war that had waged for a millennium and more. Some time ago the truce ended, youkai and miko split apart from the humans once again and war began. It wasn't war like the human wars, conducted across battlefields. The miko and youkai were simply too few in number compared to the humans to mindlessly send troops into battle.
This war was a quiet one, the battles small. The Elders had said they could not approve of a full-scale war in this modern era, the risk of the miko bloodline vanishing was too great, even if they won. Kagome thought it was a load of bullshit. Whoever had drawn that line in the sand, she wanted to meet them. As far as she could tell all that was driving the war was mindless devotion to a cause that most of the mikos didn't even fully understand, herself included.
“I was informed of your mission last night, or this morning, whichever term you consider more correct,” Kikyo said, walking out on Kagome's balcony overlooking the rooftop training area of the next building.
“Oh?” Kagome replied, pulling another uniform-issue blouse and skirt from her dresser. She had some half a dozen of each. In the lower drawers were her civilian clothes from the truce. Officially, one had to remain in uniform at all times unless otherwise cleared, such as an undercover ops mission. But the higher-ups had better things to do with their time than to police fashion. As long as one didn't make a habit of it, getting away with casual clothes now and then was possible, although it was still frowned upon. Kagome sighed and began to dress, making sure Kikyo's back was turned. Although she would never speak to the older girl's face about it, the Eldere seemed to have a lot of pointless rules about the state of the war.
“You fought Inuyasha again,” Kikyo nodded. “I shall assume you won.”
“Naturally,” Kagome agreed, zipping up her skirt. “He's kept up his training though, I had a harder time beating him than before. Still, that's good. All the better to keep me on my toes.”
“Ah, so you're interested in the hanyou keeping you on your toes,” Kikyo observed. “I had heard it was rather your back, you wanted him to get you on.” Kagome frowned at the roundabout remark and took a moment to decipher it. When that was done, she wasn't pleased.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she glared, pulling her blouse sleeves up her arms.
“I merely state what has been said by others,” Kikyo defended. “The Elders have brought up your name recently. Ever since you joined our ranks you have progressed up them smoothly. Your archery and swordplay skills are both admirable and you're developing your holy powers at a slow but nonetheless respectable rate. You're respectful, punctual and carry out your orders with great success.”
“So what the hell's the problem?” Kagome muttered, looking in the mirror over her dresser and grabbing a hairbrush.
“There have been…doubts, over your loyalty,” Kikyo explained. “The Elders have noted you have fought Inuyasha thrice in the past three months, and several times before that.”
“So?”
“We are also aware that you report a victory every time and these claims have been upheld by witnesses. So, the problem, Kagome, is why with your many victories over him, you haven't purified him yet.” Kagome stopped in the process of her brushing and turned her eyes to watch Kikyo.
“Just…haven't, I guess,” she mumbled.
“Beg pardon? I couldn't quite hear that,” Kikyo frowned, looking over her shoulder.
“I haven't,” Kagome repeated, louder. “That's why.”
“That answer isn't enough for me, do you think it will be enough for the Elders?” Kikyo scoffed. “Better to tell the truth, Kagome, than a lie and be caught in it.”
“Fine, you want the truth?” Kagome snapped, annoyed. “I haven't fucking purified the fucking hanyou because I don't fucking want to.”
“Ah,” Kikyo nodded, turning her head back. “When I explain that to the Elders, you'll understand if I feel the need to paraphrase that explanation somewhat.”
“You do that,” Kagome rolled her eyes, going back to brushing her hair. Kikyo made a small sound in her throat. Kagome scowled as she finished. “Hey, you got something to say then say it!” she said. Kikyo was silent for a moment.
“Very well,” she said after a moment. “I do not place you at fault for sparing Inuyasha. I know your past with him.”
“And I'm expected to just walk away from that?” Kagome asked, joining the other miko on the balcony. The sun was hot that day, good, the last few days had been chilly.
“Of course not. You're a miko, and a human being. You have compassion and sympathy. I personally encourage the expression of such traits, they are what separate us from the youkai,” Kikyo replied. “Still, his death would be a great blow to the morale of the youkai. His father Toga is one of their most highly decorated commanders. Infamous though you are, the youkai would outright hate you if you dispatched the son of their leader, even if he is a hanyou.”
“Well that's something everyone wants to be; hated,” Kagome muttered.
“I didn't mean it like that,” Kikyo defended.
“Of course you did. All the top soldiers in our army are hated by the youkai, and some by the humans because of the bloodthirsty and archaic image the damn media is giving us,” Kagome insisted. “To be truly successful in this force you have to slaughter youkai. Their hatred is just another badge of honor to us.”
“That's a rather cynical way of looking at it,” Kikyo said, turning her head to look at her. “You know as well as I do there are other highly valued members of our force that do not fight in the field.”
“Yeah, sure,” Kagome scoffed. Kikyo was silent. The two had never gotten along. Kagome wasn't really sure why. By her own account, Kikyo was a long-time studier of the miko traditions and was one of the first to rally to their cause. She was nice enough, if a stickler for order and rule. Something about her just didn't go over with Kagome, and while she didn't hate Kikyo, being nice to her wasn't a high priority. Kikyo knew that and she didn't particularly seem to care.
“I simply am thinking of what is best for our kind. And you should do the same,” Kikyo sighed. “Past or no, you need to stay focused and do what needs to be done.”
“Yeah yeah yeah,” Kagome huffed. “You gonna lecture me all day?” Kikyo lifted her eyebrows and turned away.
“No. I will be filling in as teacher today for the cadets. You rest and sort out your emotions,” she said. Kagome rolled her eyes as Kikyo left. Kikyo paused at the door to look back.
“The next time you face him, at least come back with another win, if you will not kill him,” she called. Kagome smirked.
“I assure you, Kikyo. Nothing would please me more than to watch Inuyasha squirming beneath me,” she said coyly. Kikyo grimaced and left the room. Kagome caught her expression as she left and fell back on the bed. Well, regardless of how Kikyo interpreted that, either way she had told the truth.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Sounded like she chewed you out again,” Tsubaki observed as Kikyo closed the door to Kagome's room.
“You were listening?” Kikyo asked, not turning her head to acknowledge her fellow miko. Tsubaki was a lower-ranked miko, below her and Kagome. She was skilled with curses and spells and almost never ventured into the field unless the Elders suspected the work of a dark miko or a witch. Tsubaki was neither, but she dabbled in such arts slightly so as to be aware of how to overcome them. The Elders approved this and so Kikyo accepted her, but the line between dark and holy spiritual power was one she didn't care to tiptoe back and forth over. Tsubaki practically lived on that line itself.
“Naturally. I find it amazing how she gets away with speaking to you when you would report any other miko for using half the words she used,” Tsubaki chuckled. Kikyo started walking down the hall, and the white-haired woman followed behind her.
“Kagome has a good heart. That's the problem,” Kikyo explained.
“Ah. Too pure even to kill youkai huh? Pitiful,” Tsubaki snorted.
“No, she has forty-seven recorded kills. She's an excellent archer and also does well in hand to hand combat,” Kikyo corrected. “The Elders even gave her one of the holy weapons from their sanctum.”
“So what's the problem if she's killing youkai?” Tsubaki asked.
“The problem is there's one youkai in particular she's going out of her way to not kill.”
“Ah yes, Inuyasha…what's his last name again? Taisho?”
“I am not sure. As far as I am aware the youkai dropped the convention of given names during the war. They know each other by scent and name well enough without them,” Kikyo shrugged. Given names were just one of many human customs the youkai had adopted over time since the truce centuries ago. The symbolic abandonment of such customs was done during the war to any youkai who joined. Just another way the youkai demonstrated how different they truly were. At least the miko were still human.
“Hm. So will she kill Inuyasha next time?” Tsubaki asked, watching as Kikyo pressed the elevator.
“I doubt it. If she had a choice I think she would rather have sex with him,” she sighed.
“Duh, who wouldn't?” Tsubaki laughed. Kikyo gave her a strange look. “I've seen pictures of him,” Tsubaki shrugged, as if that explained it. Kikyo made a small noise in her throat as the elevator door slid to the side, and the two mikos stepped inside. “So if she won't kill him, what's going to happen?”
“As long as she continues to complete her missions properly the Elders have decided to avoid action,” Kikyo said. “It is only when her emotions for him begin to interfere with her work that we'll have to review the situation and consider intervention.”
“Well so far she's doing fine from what I got. She failed to intercept the delivery last night, but I heard the two mikos that went with her and they testified they had arrived too late to stop it anyway.”
“Yes. And she stayed to fight. Kagome is perfectly willing to fight Inuyasha. It is the killing blow she refuses to deliver.”
“Well you can't make her kill him,” Tsubaki pointed out.
“True,” Kikyo admitted, stepping out of the elevator as it opened on the ground floor. “All we can do is try to convince her that his death is a necessity to our cause and hope she realizes how she is making herself look.”
“And you think that'll happen?”
“No.”
“Me neither,” Tsubaki nodded. “So, I'm assuming you need a substitute for the cadet training since she stayed in her room?”
“Yes, I will be covering her duties,” Kikyo replied. “I will fall behind on paperwork regarding the wards for one of our allied cities, but there is nothing to be done for it.”
“Ah. In that case I leave you, madam miko,” Tsubaki saluted, the gesture more of an insult to the higher-ranking miko than a sign of respect. Kikyo let it slide and headed for the north-east door to the training grounds while Tsubaki walked off who-knew where to find something to occupy herself.