InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Revelation, Realization & Redemption ❯ Chapter 1: A Miko's Powers Discovered ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. This story was written for the purposes of entertainment and I by no means will profit from the story other than the satisfaction of exercising my imaginative and writing abilities.

Chapter 1: Rin's Return A Miko's Powers Discovered

Sesshomaru stood upon the precipice looking down at the valley below. Rin was lost and he could not catch her familiar scent anywhere. He had left for a couple of days, but the journey had proven longer than he had anticipated. By the time he had returned there were only faint traces that led him nowhere but in circles. This Lord of the demons had tried to harden his heart to the human pup but her unfailing trust and devotion to him was unconditional and all consuming and despite his best efforts Sesshomaru found that his heart could not be untouched. He could not help but feel a keen interest in her well being.

WEAK that word resounded in his mind as he once again berated himself for the feelings of inadequacy he felt when dealing with this human. How often had he, Sesshomaru, chided his brother, Inuyasha for putting his life in danger for that strange human girl? The taiyoukai had learned long ago that humans were fickle creatures, capable of doing great good as well as great harm. Once many lifetimes ago there were humans that walked this earth of incomparable honor. Death had come swiftly for them, too swiftly. They existed still immortalized only in the realm of his memory; sadly their legacy remained in its confines as well.

Humans were complicated and hard to understand. Their emotions changed in an instant, their loyalties swayed. Over the ages the race had lost its pride, its honor and with them his respect. The taiyoukai could understand his brother's fascination with the girl, she was beautiful. If only that were the only thing that mattered, but she had proven how undisciplined she was. Her emotions ruled her even in the face of reason and prevented her from doing what she must. Unlike demons who were able to continue on with their duties and set their emotions aside. The taiyoukai knew that he must do the same as he has these many years and no small human pup would change that.

He knew it was his duty to guide that power within his brother. The power that was somehow part of him, maybe it was the miko's arrow that placed it in him or maybe it was her love for him that allowed her soul to bond with his. It was faint but Sesshomaru was certain it was there. That miko energy he had felt was slowly becoming stronger. But he knew it was still not yet near powerful enough to overcome the evil that was amassing and threatening to destroy all that he held dear. The balance of the universe was getting perilously close to tipping too much in one direction, and it needed to be counteracted.

It was time for him to stop wasting time. Long ago he had known the path he must take and he must stick to it without delay. Rin would have to be on her own for now. A part of him cried out against this, and this same part wanted vengeance against Jaken for his irresponsibility, but he knew that would be wasted energy. Too much had already been wasted. His feelings didn't matter.

Sesshomaru was resolved once more in his self appointed duty. It was time to continue forward and assist his brother in this quest to put an end to the half demon Naraku. He turned away from the view.

"May the God's protect you Rin, for I can not sway from my duty to this land for if I do all those under my protection and beyond it will surely perish, none will survive the destruction that will come." This was spoken to no one but the road ahead of him. His voice even to his own ears sounded cold, dispassionate and heartless, devoid of any indication of the regret that he felt at having to do so. For he knew the young human child would not survive on her own.

The wind changed then, and he caught the familiar scent on the wind. A small almost imperceptible smile graced his lips. "Rin" he breathed the name in relief. He did not take his responsibilities lightly and this human was like his own. It was then he felt the now familiar faint energy drawing near as well. "Brother" the word entered his thoughts as he took another sniff of the air and was slightly confused not to find his brothers scent in the air. The scent was human, familiar, though he could not place it. Intrigued he moved quickly to find both.

It wasn't long before he heard the familiar childish voice of Rin crying out his name in happiness. He felt her warm arms wrap himself around his legs as he stood there transfixed. Unconsciously he placed a hand on the top of her head as he looked into the unblinking eyes of the human girl who traveled with his brother.

Stormy eyes, dark blue almost black, the color of the sky at midnight regarded him with a mixture of emotions. Kagome was transfixed, unable to move or utter a sound as she regarded the scene unfolding before her. Fear, momentarily coursed through her body when the familiar taiyoukai appeared on the road before them, replaced by surprise when the young girl beside her ran forward and eagerly greeted him.

Kagome instinctively blinked to clear her vision, because her eyes must certainly have deceived her. She had a clear view of the small child with her arms wrapped around the taiyoukai's legs, and he had placed his hand on the girls head. Surprised, she could not help the small smile that came to her lips to see the girl reunited happily with her guardian, even if it was the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands. Instinctively she knew that the girl was in safe hands, and doubted he would harm her in anyway with the girl present.

Deciding that she should at least acknowledge his presence courteously to show that she had no ill intentions she bowed in greeting. He nodded his head stiffly in return, his amber eyes never leaving hers, and she had the strange feeling that he was assessing her in some way. Still, the fear that she had initially felt upon seeing him had not returned, which confused her.

Her eyes flicked to the young girl who had released her hold on his legs and now stood obediently beside him. Neither of them touched the other any longer, and as her gaze took them both in she realized that he did not seem as bloodthirsty and heartless as she knew him to be. This small human girl was important to him, that fact was abundantly clear. Though she was not frightened of him, Kagome grew uncomfortable as his penetrating amber gaze remained on her. Throughout their previous encounters the taiyoukai had only paid minimal attention to her person and when he had paid attention to her, it was Inuyasha's quick reflexes that had allowed her to leave relatively unscathed.

Sesshomaru was indeed focused on the human girl before him. For the first time since his brother had awakened he had begun to see the truth that he had failed to grasp before. The power he had felt was in this young human before him, not in Inuyasha. This strange human girl, rumored to be from a different time, was the one in possession of the dead miko's powers.

It was not just that realization that kept him silently gazing at the girl though. It was his disbelief and confusion kept his attention on the girl. He had to be sure his senses were not deceiving him as the signature of another power seemed to emanate from the human as well. Another, more powerful miko had possessed it, and it had been thought to have been sealed away forever. The signature was faint, and he was sure that he must be imagining it, but as the silence stretched the power did not fade, but remained constant. Hope pushed aside the confusion and disbelief that he felt.

Before him stood the key to righting what should have been righted a long time ago. Somehow, this girl that he had so long overlooked would be the key. He had wrongly believed it would be his brother who would be the one… yet he couldn't fault his reasoning, as he was not the only one who believed Inuyasha would be the one to finally restore the balance in the end.

A human girl, he would never have believed anyone if they had told them the fate of the world would lie in her hands. This would not be easy, time was running short and he doubted that she knew she possessed the power, let alone knew how to use it. Thankfully he had seen to it that his brother had retrieved the Tetsusaiga. The human would need all the protection that sword could afford her and more.

A movement from the girl alerted him to the fact that he had been silently watching her and he forced himself to say something.

"Miko, I thank you for returning the child to my care. It puts me at ease knowing that she has been in your care." He said soberly. Amber eyes watched in silent unexpressed fascination as a soft shade of rose spread through her cheeks as she lowered her head in what appeared to him as embarrassment at his form of address, confirming his suspicions. Beautiful the word crept unbidden into these thoughts, before he pushed it aside. Now was not the time for such nonsense.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru, but I'm not a Miko, I… we believe… Kaede, Inuyasha, the others and I believe that I am a reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo, but I am not a priestess, though sometimes strange things happen. I have not the skills that she possesses. I merely help the others find the pieces of the jewel that we seek. I am not spiritually strong enough to fight as Kikyo does." Kagome stumbled over the words as she was caught off guard by his words and more than well aware of the amber gaze that was on her. Without looking she knew he was still looking at her with that same unsettling intensity, as if he knew something about her.

Sesshomaru could hear the nervous embarrassment in her words. The sound of a sneeze next to him reminded him of the young girl that stood beside him. Now was not the time to speak to the human of the truth, not when he was still not fully certain what the truth meant, and what he should reveal. He needed to get back to the stronghold, investigate this further and decide how to proceed before he confronted the girl with the truth.

"Miko or no, I owe you my thanks as does my ward. Now, we must take our leave. There is business that must be attended to that has been put aside for far too long." Sesshomaru stated evenly.

"You're welcome." Kagome replied, looking up in amazement at the taiyoukai who nodded to her and turned abruptly and began to walk away.

Rin however ran forward towards Kagome, who instinctively knelt down to embrace the girl. "Please come and visit Rin. It would make Rin very happy because Rin likes Kagome very much."

Sesshomaru had stopped walking and turned back around, his keen demon hearing had picked up every word and he was curious to see how the woman would react. The sight that greeted him however took him by surprise. He hadn't expected to see the young woman embracing his ward.

True she had helped the girl find her way back to him, but this… was a totally unexpected show of emotion even for a human. With their own children humans were generous with their affectionate gestures, but with those unknown to them they were less so.

"I like Rin very much too."

Sesshomaru's keen ears didn't miss the human's response either, nor did he miss the open affection held in the girl's voice. Keen amber eyes didn't miss the tender smile the woman gave the girl as she stood and set the young girl away from her. Unexpectedly his demon heart gave a slight lurch at the sight before him. He knew they were strangers, and that the thought was foolish but it came to mind nonetheless that he was witnessing a tender moment between mother and child. Unbidden a memory came to mind briefly as his own mother was called to mind before he quickly pushed all thoughts away and began to walk again.

Moments later he could hear the soft footfalls of his ward behind him just as she had done since he had revived her. In silence he led and she followed as once more they made their journey home.

Kagome watched the two of them walk away for a moment, disregarding all the conflicting thoughts that had begun to invade her mind. Everything about this meeting had been surreal, and if she hadn't seen it she definitely wouldn't have believed it. Sesshomaru hadn't tried to kill her or the girl; in fact he had been almost nice… as far as cold, stoic, demons who've tried to kill you before go.

Kagome shook her head to clear the thoughts and questions that this visit had incited. Silently, she turned to head back to where she was to meet her friends. Now wasn't the time to linger. Kagome knew she should probably be grateful that she was walking away from a meeting with Sesshomaru and ignore the little voice that had begun to wonder if maybe Sesshomaru wasn't as bad as she had once thought.