InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mitsukaitou: Blade of the Angel ❯ Chapter 10

Kagome sighed as she stretched. She didn't really want to wake up; it was more like she had to. Something was off.

"Well of course. I'm sleeping in a futon. I'm sore from fighting. Certainly things will feel wrong!" she assured herself quietly, rising. There was a hot spring nearby, and she was positive her body would feel better after a long soak. Cheers met her ears as she emerged from the inn.

"Uhh, hi!" she stuttered, not quite sure what to say to these people who seemed ready to drop to their knees and worship her over Buddha himself.

"Anything you desire, we shall fulfill to the best of our abilities!" a village woman cried.

"Anything at all!" another assured.

"Well that's very nice, really, but I didn't destroy the demons for personal gain. You don't have to do anything for me! You have no debt."

"Gracious Mitsukai! Thank you for saving us" shouted a bowing man, outwardly discontented to offer her nothing.

"Wonderful Mitsukai!" several others took up, bowing. Kagome blushed.

"Really, that's not at all necessary...I just wanted to take a bath..." she murmured.

"Leave the girl alone! She must be exhausted." Ordered a young man. Kagome looked to her savior. He was tall with long black hair pulled into a low ponytail.

"Thank you." She said.

"It's the least I can do." She sighed. Well, so much for the, 'Now really, she isn't a god' phase.

"I suppose." she sighed in resignation. With that, she headed off to the spring. Not to her surprise, most young women followed her. She decided to do her best to ignore them. She quickly scanned the area for any offending men, and upon finding none, stripped down and slipped into the water. A content sigh escaped her lips. As expected, she was soon surrounded with the village females.

"How are you so strong?"

"Yes, tell us, how is it a mere woman such as ourselves could defeat so many foe!"

"Well, uhh, I'm a miko. That gives me the spiritual power to properly use my youkai strength."

"You're a youkai?!" one of them cried fearfully.

"No, no, no, I'm a hanyou. I'm friendly! Really!" she said with a smile, holding her hands up in mock surrender. A sigh of relief escaped the small crowd, but tension remained.

"If you're hanyou, why is it you look human? There's no sign of youkai blood about you!"

"I'm not fully hanyou."

"How does this come to be?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. The facts are clear; I came here to defeat demons, I saved your village, and soon I must move on."

"How soon will you be leaving?" one asked desperately.

"Probably today. I'm sure you need to make repairs."

"Oh, but so soon?"

"I can't stay in one place for very long."

"Why is this?"

"Long story. You remember the woman demon who flew on a feather?"

"Yes."

"Well, her master, Naraku, is after me for the Shikon no Tama fragments I have. Therefore anyone around me will be in danger. Aside from that, I used to travel with a group of people. However, I'm trying to avoid them just now. If I stay, Inuyasha will pick up my scent."

"Inuyasha!"

"That is your traveling partner!"

"He's evil!"

"Oh no! Inuyasha is good!" with that, Kagome proceeded to tell her best recollections of Inuyasha, as well as Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. She conveniently left out her history from the future, Kikyo, and many other things she would rather forget at the moment. While forgetting her mission for self-clarity, forgetting the downfalls of her companions, she wanted nothing more than to be with them again.

"Wow!"

"We've heard such bad things about Inuyasha! You make him sound so wonderful though."

"Well, he's anything but perfect. No one is perfect."

"You are, Mitsukai. You came here and saved us with no thought of yourself. You fought peerlessly. You are able to run from all of these people, the evil Naraku, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku; and all you want is to help others while evading them all! You truly are a mitsukai." Kagome blushed fiercely. Had she glorified herself in the stories? No, she hadn't thought so.

If others can say I'm a mitsukai, if they believe me perfect...

"I'm not so wonderful as that. Really. I'd much rather you called me Kagome."

"Kagome...that's such a pretty name."

"It will be the name of my first daughter!"

"Well if you really like it so much as that..." she mumbled.

"Oh yes! It's beautiful."

"Thank you!" Kagome said brightly. She dashed up to the shore to grab her kimono. She noticed that the tear had been sewn back together quite well. She'd washed her hair and body while telling stories, but the little issue of her clothing still remained. She dunked it into the water, instantly drowning the scent of blood it gave off. She grabbed at another of plants and began to scrub the dress violently. The village women watched silently, almost scared to ask if she wanted help. Women hated blood. It was their nature. (But, of course, the village healer wasn't bothered by it at all.) They wouldn't offer to wash that yukata, only if she asked. Kagome seemed more than happy to do it herself though. Once the redness was gone, she sighed, laying it over a sun covered rock. She then began to gossip with the women, asked them what they would do now, how life had been before, did they have intendeds, things of that nature. They were more than happy to give answers and shoot back questions. After an hour, she sighed and slid over to the rock, grabbed her kimono, and headed to the shore to get dressed.

Inuyasha was not happy. Just as he had thought, Sango did know something. She'd just told him Kagome's plans. He'd wanted to throttle her all over again. How could someone who was supposed to be your friend let you walk into a deathtrap?

"Inuyasha, you have to understand, I wanted to tell you, I really did, but she wanted to do this on her own, and I couldn't disrespect that. Inuyasha, if she's okay, don't go to her. Don't let her know I betrayed her, okay?" Sango pleaded. Miroku couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Inuyasha wouldn't respond. He wasn't sure if it was for lack of compliance or anger at Sango. Probably both. Sango let out an immense sigh and returned to her place on Kirara so that they could rush again.

Within an hour they were at Tsukyo. Inuyasha visibly cringed from the scent of blood. It was everywhere. The ground was red-brown from dried lakes of it. Buildings were smeared with the substance. All around, people were working. Many older women were washing buildings with water. Children were sweeping away whole layers of the ground, trying to reach an area untainted by the wretched substance they'd practically been bathed in since they were born.

"Excuse me, have you seen Kagome?" Shippo asked one of the old women frantically.

"Kagome?" the old woman replied blankly.

"She's this tall," began Sango, indicating a height with her hands, "She has long black hair, a green kimono..."

"OH! You mean Mitsukai!"

"No old lady, her name is Kagome. Where is she?" asked the only person capable of such rudeness.

"She is Mitsukai to us. She saved us. She is bathing with the other young women right now. Do you wish to thank her as well? Or are you some demon come to prove himself by fighting her?"

"Neither. I'm here to put her where she fucking belongs."

"Inuyasha! You promised you wouldn't!"

"Iie. You asked me to, I never gave an answer one way or the other. KAGOME!" he shouted. Kagome's ears perked.

"Kuso," she murmured. The young village girls looked at her in astonishment. They certainly hadn't expected this cultured savior of theirs to be so crass! Kagome walked calmly into the open. She would not show weakness or any sign that she wanted to return. When she reached the square, there stood Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.

"Kagome." Inuyasha growled lowly. Gods she looked different while so utterly the same. Her kimono was slightly damp, clinging to her lean body. Her hair was straight from the heaviness of water. She looked utterly composed. Her feet were just a bit more than shoulder width apart; one hip cocked up to support her hand. Her bangs were swept back to each side instead of covering her face as they usually did.

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

"Come on."

"Sorry Inuyasha, I can't do that." To Inuyasha's displeasure, a crowd was forming, mostly of young women who had obviously been bathing with kagome.

"And why not?"

"I have to be on my own Inuyasha."

"No you don't. What you did here was stupid. What if you had been hurt, what if you had been killed, Kagome? Did you think of that? You would have died without anyone. You would die guilty."

"Guilty, Inuyasha? Guilty of what?"

"You never said goodbye, Kagome." The girls sighed dreamily.

"Wow, he came all this way just to see her!"

"Isn't that romantic?"

"NO!" he growled. "Romantic nothing! Kagome, you are the shard detector, you belong with us."

"A shard detector? Is that all I am, Inuyasha?"

"Hai. It's all you'll ever be to anyone! Now come here!" Inuyasha's ears were met with boos from Kagome's fan club.

"After you insulted me like that? I don't think so Inuyasha. Bye everyone, thank you for having me. I'll come back someday!" and with that she began to run, then leap from tree to tree upon reaching the woods. Inuyasha was in hot pursuit.

"You can't outrun me Kagome."

"No, you're right." She said, suddenly stopping. He stopped in shock. "SIT, SIT, SIT!" she took off again, a three-minute head start over Inuyasha. He wouldn't catch her if she could do anything about her scent. As if responding to her needs, the breeze picked up, scattering her scent into pools and false leads. She shivered involuntarily. There was something so strange about the way the wind seemed to help her.

Oh well. She continued to run, completely feeling her body, being aware of every bone, every muscle, every ligament, and every tissue there. She could feel and hear her heartbeat. Everything was a beautiful harmony to her. After an hour, she stopped running to rest. She felt that she would need it, and Inuyasha was no threat at the moment. She couldn't stop feeling guilty for what she'd said to her friend. She knew that she was just that, his friend, yet she'd pushed him to deny her even that. She hated running from him, it felt wrong in more ways than she could measure. It couldn't be helped though. Being alone was just what she needed for a while, and there was no better place than a time where there was no GPS or police, no school friends or peer pressure to influence any decision she made. She had one mission to fulfill, and then she could stop running. Then things would be normal again.

The wind pushed west. It blew Kagome's hair about wildly, as well as the slack material of her kimono. She sighed and began slowly walking in the direction of the breeze. Whatever lay ahead, the wind hadn't let her down yet.

Kagome saw a small town before after only half a mile. Small though it was, the buildings were grand, and obviously rich. Youkai children scurried about their mother's feet. All but one. It was a little dog demon. She was wearing a nice light blue kimono that could do with a wash. She looked lost. Kagome took a guess at why by the way people looked at herself, as well as the girl.

She must be hanyou, and this is a youkai town...Kagome felt a deep pang of sympathy for this little girl, who by human standards, looked to be about ten. The youkai mothers hustled their children around the girl, spitting rude remarks.

"Mom?" She called vacantly, "Mommy?"

"Your mother is dead Kasseri. Get used to it." Said a tall youkai male. He looked like a fox demon.

"Mom?" she persisted, like a little bird's chirp, "Mom?" The youkai male still stood over her. Kagome was overcome, and found herself closing the distance between herself and the little girl.

"Hi there. My name's Kagome. What's yours?"

"Mom?"

"Her name is Kasseri. She's a half breed." Unlike most demons, this man did not say 'half breed' with disgust. "Both of her parents were inu-hanyous. Her father died about seven years ago, her mother went about a week ago. No one can get her to respond. I've tried to look out for her, but I've got my own kits to worry about..."

"I see. Kasseri, My name is Kagome. I'm going to take care of you now, okay?" She said, looking into the girl's eyes.

"Mom?"

"Sure. You can call me 'Mom' if you want!"

"...You'll be nice too?" She asked, her voice small and timid. The man was still there, and looked shocked.

"Of course I'll be nice! You're my baby now." The little girl nodded. Kagome stood and held her hand to Kasseri. She took it in her little one.

"Thank you for taking her. I was friends with her parents. I would take her it, but I can't. I trust you will keep her safe like your own pup." Kagome's eyes softened.

"But of course. Might I ask your name?"

"Shakuhou. Come back Kagome. This town looks down on hanyous, but ask for me and you shouldn't have too much hassle."

"I'd be glad. But now, I really must be moving on." She said as the wind tugged at her clothes.

"Wait, you should know, Kasseri was trained with spiritual powers a while back, keep an eye on her."

"I would anyway. Good-bye Shakuhou. I'm glad to know there truly are kind youkai out there." With those words, she indicated Kasseri to get onto her back, and she took off with the wind.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, wherever the wind takes us!"

"You are the wind."

"What?"

"You are the wind."

"I heard you, I meant to ask 'what do you mean?'"

"You felt the special wind. I saw you."

"Special wind?" Kagome asked thoughtfully.

"Uh huh. I feel it too. Shakuhou said it was because of the school."

"What school is that?"

"The one Keade-sama ran. That was a long time ago though. I haven't seen her for a long time. She taught us to do stuff we could use if we were in trouble. Like stuff mikos learn, but you don't have to be a miko to use. Like to feel the wind. It tells you what to do. Everybody has the ability to feel the wind, they just don't learn it."

"Oh." Said Kagome. She thought about this a moment. Keade taught a school to learn your natural talents. Kasseri could feel this strange wind as well. But hers must be different. Everyone had his or her own wind. Everyone on Earth. Wow. She was destined to take care of this little girl. That would be okay. She didn't want to travel alone anyway. Little girls were always pleasant company.

"Anyway, your wind is different. Like wind wind instead of spiritual wind." She continued.

"Is that so?" Kagome responded, disconnected at the moment. Her thoughts were on the scent of one particular hanyou drifting lazily towards them in the afternoon breeze.

"Where are we going?" she asked again.

"Wherever the wind takes us." Kasseri smiled.

"Okay. What do you have on your necklace?" She asked, fingering the jewel fragment, which had worked its way around to Kagome's back.

"That's part of the Shikon no Tama." Kagome said informingly, being careful to stay downwind of Inuyasha.

"The Shikon no Tama that all the people in Edo talk about?"

"Uh huh!"

"I thought it was bad."

"Only before they're purified."

"How do they get purified?"

"I touch them."

"You have to touch all of them?"

"Yes. It's no problem though. I have to collect them all anyway, to keep them away from bad demons."

"What if a good demon had them?"

"I would still have to take them. It's my job to put the entire jewel together again."

"What will happen then?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure. We can't very well destroy it, that would just shatter it again..." Kagome trailed off, thinking of just what she would do.

"You won't go away, will you?"

"No! That definitely won't happen. Don't worry."

"Mommy!" she shrieked, successfully stopping Kagome in her tracks. Immediately before them was none other than Kouga.

"Hey Kagome!" He said smoothly.

"Hello Kouga-kun."

"Where'd you get the kid?"

"Her name is Kasseri. I found her."

"Well that's nice. So, I noticed that you happen to be short one man in your life and-"

"Don't bother Kouga." Kagome said with a flat face. "I'm happy manless, thanks."

"Oh come on Kagome! You're going to raise a pup by yourself? Single mothers are very out of fashion." Kagome felt Kasseri's grip tighten on her shoulders.

"See you Kouga. I really don't have time right now."

"Wait a minute Kagome. You aren't getting away before you tell my why you have the blood of a dog demon."

"Sure I am! TA!" She leapt off, knowing fully that Kouga would keep up without effort, but feeling safer running.

"I mean it Kagome. That filthy dog didn't mate with you then leave you, did he?" Kouga asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"No Kouga-kun. As a matter of fact he's after me right now, so if you don't mind I really need to go."

"You left him then?"

"Mi ni oboe no nai koto da! Inuyasha and I are not mates! Kouga, just let me get away from here!" she said frantically, feeling the wind shift. Inuyasha would pick up her scent any second now.

"Well don't tell him that Kagome! He'll get the idea that you'll be with him." Said Inuyasha, appearing from nowhere.

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" she cried. "MOU! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?"

"Deserve what? I'm saving your lame ass from Kouga, again-"

"Saved her from me? She didn't NEED saving!"

"Oh yeah? Like you wouldn't have done something to her!"

"I'd never so something that could hurt dear Kagome!"

"SURE, because running off with her whenever you get the chance isn't beyond mentally scarring!"

"Why don't we let Kagome answer that!" they turned to where Kagome had been, only to find that she was there no more.

"See what you did?"

"Me, YOU scared her off!"

Kagome sighed as she ran. At least their trivial arguments made a nice distraction, if nothing else. Once she was a good distance away, she found a decent sized cave carved out of a hillside. She went in, and it was a mess. Leaves and loose dirt covered the ground. She found a pine tree and slashed off a small branch to use as a broom.

"Me too?" Kasseri asked.

"Hmm? Oh, if you want to." Kagome said, reaching up for another branch that Kasseri could use. The two of them spent an hour sufficiently cleaning out leaves and bugs and stomping the ground smooth. Kagome built a fire pit just outside of it. Kagome sighed. She could imagine a little village nearby. Maybe she and her child lived here in this hut. She would send her daughter into town for vegetables while she hunted. Perhaps a man would be courting her, willing to be the child's new parent with her. Kagome wondered if what she really wanted to do was settle down in this time. Would it ever be possible? Could she ever just stop everything?

"Mommy?"

"Yes Kasseri?"

"I'm hungry."

"Me too! Let's see if we can catch something, hmm?"

"Okay!" the duo managed to get two rabbits. Kagome was careful with the skins. She would clean them later. Then if she collected enough, she could make Kasseri her own bag. Maybe she'd catch some birds one day and buy some cloth to make her a pillow. Things really changed when you had a child to think about. Things changed a lot...

"Time for bed."

"Oh, but I'm not tired!"

"That's okay, we're getting up early tomorrow and traveling all day."

"Fine." She sighed. Kagome laid a thin blanket down for Kasseri to lay on so that she wouldn't get dirty. Once the girl was asleep, Kagome went back outside to the fire.

"Mitsukaitou, you've served me well. Tell me, why the wind? What is so special about the wind? What does it have to do with me?" she asked the sword quietly. Not unexpectedly, there was no answer. She sighed and went back within the cave. She involuntarily found herself sitting with her arms and legs crossed, Mitsukaitou between her arms. Kagome thought of how Inuyasha had slept this way and sighed.

How could only three days seem so long? Like years...Kagome fell asleep, the fire reflecting on the gold teardrops of Mitsukaitou's hilt.