InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Duet ❯ Realization ( Chapter 8 )

Welcome back to Fallen or Strange Duet, depending on the site you are on. We're on the 8thchapter. It's going by so fast and I'm completely amazed with the amount of enthusiasm for this story I'm getting. I guess this means I'm doing pretty well. Well, thank you to all who reviewed for the last chapter and the ones before this one as well.

 

Standard Disclaimer: Inuyasha/co are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not me, I do own Chimokoumaru and his family, along with any other OCs that may pop in here.

 

Tracklist C8: Sway- Lost Prophets

 

 

 

Three weeks had passed by since that awkward encounter in the school courtyard between that two-timer and Kagome.

 

Said girl had not shown up to school since then and was driving nearly everyone who had known or encountered the girl more than once absolutely insane with worry and curiosity as to what happened.

 

Three girls were the ones who were concerned the most, considering that they had known Kagome for over four and a half years and had yet to see anything like that happen. Eri, Yuka and Ayumi stared out the window in the last period of the day, waiting to see the form of Kagome with her mother or grandfather and brother coming up to collect her missing work.

 

Souta and the grandfather or Kagome's mother were the only ones who ever showed up. There was no sign of the young woman that had fast become their best friend.

 

Eri sighed and pushed a short lock of hair out of her face, dark brown eyes narrowing slightly as she noticed Kagome's mother walking up the pathway to the school's entrance. She looked over at the anxiously waiting girls and shook her head. They had come up with a system; someone would sit in the closest seat to the window each day at this period and wait for someone from Kagome's family to show up. If Kagome wasn't with them, there would be a shake of the head before the girl would return to her work. If Kagome was with someone from her family, the girl would “accidently” drop her pencil on the ground to alert the others.

 

`Kagome-chan…why haven't you come back yet?'

 

She turned to go back to her work when something caught the corner of her eye. Interested, Eri looked back towards the window and felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop. Immediately dropping her pencil on to the desk and pretty much breaking it as she slammed her hand down on top of it, Eri stood up and fled from the room. The sounds of two other girls running behind her let her know that Yuka and Ayumi had figured it out as well and were right behind her.

 

“Eri-chan! Are you positive it's her?!”

 

Eri didn't look back as she replied, her eyes intent on the stairway in front of her.

 

“No mistaking it, Kagome-chan's coming into the school!”

 

Three sets of feet thundered down the stairs as they whipped around the corner, all skidding to a halt as they saw Mrs. Higurashi look up and give them a tired smile before she continued to talk with the principal and secretary. Sitting down and leaning heavily against the wall was none other than Kagome herself.

 

“Kagome-chan!”

 

The girls cried out as they raced over to where their friend was sitting. Yuka's eyes widened as she noticed Kagome's appearance.

 

Pale skin coupled with the dark circles underneath a pair of exhausted looking dark grey eyes and still slightly bed ruffled hair signaled where Kagome had been the past few weeks. In bed from either an illness or something much worse.

 

`Oh no, they didn't break up did they?!'

 

Kagome looked up, her eyes focusing in on the trio of faces the looked from each other to her and back again before she managed to force herself to give them a smile of greeting. She pushed her hair back behind her ear and gave a small smile to her friends.

 

`They've been worried about me. I noticed Eri looking like she was about to have a heart attack when she was looking out the window.'

 

“Hey guys.”

 

Immediately the three swarmed around her, Eri and Yuka on either side of her on the bench and Ayumi kneeling in front of her. Three sets of concerned brown eyes stared at Kagome even as three different questions hit her at the same time.

 

“Are you alright?!”

 

“What's going on?!”

 

“Where have you been?!”

 

A small, fragile laugh escaped from Kagome as she shook her head and looked at her friends' faces. She shouldn't have been so selfish, she thought to herself as she watched Eri and Yuka wipe at their eyes with their hands. People were worried about her and all she had done was try and drown out the world in her bed, multiple bathes and even quite a few sessions of one against a straw dummy practice. Seven times in the past three weeks she had pushed herself so hard that she had collapsed where she had stood and slept for a long time.

 

`I should have called or something.'

 

“I'm feeling a little better”

 

`Liar…'

 

“It's not that big of a deal really”

 

`How can you say that? You just changed your life and everyone you know here and in the past!'

 

“And I've been exhausted and not feeling very well so, Mama kept me in bed until I regained a little of my strength.”

 

`They deserve to know the truth about you!'

 

“Kagome? Are you coming home with me or are you going to walk home with Eri-chan, Yuka-chan and Ayumi-chan?”

 

The four girls looked over at Kagome's mother. Kagome smiled softly at her mother and responded, feeling her friends' hands tighten slightly over hers and on her shoulder.

 

“I'll come home soon. We have a lot to talk about.”

 

She smiled at her daughter in understanding before she bowed quickly and left the building, her daughter's assignments in hand and a prayer sent to the heavens to guide her daughter's broken spirit back together.

 

`Kagome, you are the bravest young woman I have ever known. No matter how you feel, all you want to do is make sure everyone else is alright.'

 

Eri frowned at the looks that had passed between Kagome and her mother. What on earth had that been about? She wondered to herself as Kagome listened to Yuka and Ayumi chatter on about inane things that had happened after she had left. Her fingers tapped against her leg before she sighed irritably, something was going on that Kagome wasn't talking about and she wanted to know what it was.

 

“Come on you guys, Kagome looks like she needs something to eat or she'll fade away right in front of us!”

 

Eri grabbed Kagome's hand and held it tightly so that the girl couldn't pull away and began to lead the others towards their favorite burger joint; WacDonald's.

 

“Don't worry about paying for the food Kagome-chan; it's on us this time.”

 

Once they had gotten their food, everyone ordering double so that they could cram it down Kagome's throat and make her look a little healthier than the pale girl looked at the moment, the three girls watched Kagome stare out the window until Eri couldn't take it anymore.

 

“Kagome-chan, what happened after you left with that Inuyasha guy?”

 

Yuka and Ayumi gave Eri a dirty look before they looked anxiously over to Kagome to catch her reaction. The young woman only seemed to stare at something that they didn't see before she sighed and shook her head before she spoke to them. Her hands played with the corner of one of the bright yellow burger wrappers as she kept her eyes focused on the wrapper and not on her friends' faces.

 

`Leave it to Eri-chan to want the truth. That girl is smarter than she knows.'

 

“It's a long story. I don't know if you guys will believe me if I tell it to you.”

 

Eri, Yuka and Ayumi exchanged puzzled looks before the looked over at Kagome and frowned at her. What was she talking about? She had never lied to them before and she was definitely worthy of their trust. So, why was what she was going to tell them so unbelievable that she'd say that to them?

 

“Kagome-chan, you've never lied to us before, why would you now?”

 

Tears sprung into Kagome's eyes as she wiped them away with the back of one hand. Her friends really had no idea what they had just said to her and how much it meant, and hurt her at the same time.

 

…you've never lied to us before, why would you now?

 

`Because you'll never believe this.'

 

“Well, it all started when I turned fifteen almost four years ago…”

 

Eri, Yuka and Ayumi were drawn in, hooked by the tale that their friend was weaving about why she had been “sick” and absent all the time for the past three years. Even more unbelievable was the fact that Kagome had just finished explaining that the scars on her thigh were not from any kind of accident or stigmata but were the results of the battle between Kagome and some really creepy guy named Naraku. Silence filled the table as the three took in the story.

 

`So Kagome-chan was…'

 

`Fighting the entire time…

 

`Running into youkai like in the legends…'

 

Kagome was picking at the fourth burger that they had ordered for her, nibbling on the pieces she tore off as she waited to hear them say something. Before anyone could, Kagome stood up and pulled her blouse up to her lower ribs, showing the white star shaped scar surrounded by four puncture marks on the left and right of the scar. Her eyes were dark and her voice quiet as she spoke to her friends.

 

`It may not help for them to see it but, I might as well show it to them.'

 

“This is the scar from where the Shikon no Tama was removed from my body. Those circular marks are from the fangs that dug into my skin to get the Shikon out.”

 

A crowd of people swarmed in, people who had just gotten out of archery practice and kendo as well chattered and laughed carelessly as they set down practice swords and blunt tipped arrows beside their tables and ordered.

 

Kagome watched them thoughtfully and sighed. She looked at the disbelief on her friends' faces and gave them a half smile before she shrugged her shoulders.

 

“You guys have been with me for a long time, I thought if anyone besides my family deserved to know the truth, you three should.”

 

A sudden shiver ran down Kagome's spine as the edge of her senses caught the sensation of bloodlust; a feeling that usually accompanied the feeling of a youkai on the hunt for human prey. Her eyes narrowed as she stiffened, her hands clenching into fists as she began to try and drown out the noise, like Kaede and Miroku had taught her, so that she could find the source of the energy.

 

“Kagome-chan, are you alrigh-”

 

“Shh!”

 

Kagome hissed at Yuka, who had hesitantly reached out to Kagome and tried to shake her out of whatever space case or day dream she was having. Blue-grey eyes darkened as she looked out the window and frowned to herself.

 

“There's two of them but one feels different…”

 

Something shook the building as a child's terrified scream filled the air. People jumped and looked around nervously, somehow finding their gaze drawn to the young woman in the navy blue sailor uniform who was staring at something out the window. Kagome moved out of her seat and stood in the middle of the aisle, blocking a few people who were trying to look out the window as she searched the streets from the window for the source of the scream.

 

`Cold, earthy and poisonous…it has to be a snake youkai.'

 

Kagome thought to herself as the child's scream rose into a wail of terror and pain, sounding much closer than it had been before. She shook herself out of the trance and started running towards the door, scooping up a quiver from one person and a long bow from another despite the cries of outrage and protest.

 

“I need to borrow these for a minute, I'll be right back!”

 

Her voice rang out into the suddenly silent building as she shoved open the door to the restaurant and raced outside. Eri, Yuka and Ayumi's faces turned red as they apologized for their friend and raced outside after her, calling out her name in an attempt to slow the girl down.

 

Kagome stood there in the middle of the street, the roads eerily empty as she removed one of the arrows and notched it in the bowstring and lifted the bow, drawing back the string as she aimed at where she thought the youkai was going to emerge from.

 

`Come on…where are you?'

 

A pale white and blue blur suddenly jumped into the air from the end of the street and raced towards the young woman holding a bow. It was a small child about seven or eight years old with her long black hair pulled and braided into pigtails. Kagome could see the girl's frightened blue-grey eyes find her and light up as she ran faster than should be possible for a child her size.

 

`Hanyou, or youkai…no human child can run that fast.'

 

She thought to herself as the little girl shot past her and nearly bowled over the girls behind Kagome. Eri caught the heavily breathing girl and looked surprised at the blood seeping out of the child's torn sleeve.

 

“What happened?”

 

The little girl looked up at her, trembling as she looked at Kagome before looking back at Eri.

 

“She's a miko, right?”

 

Eri frowned and opened her mouth to protest when something that very vaguely resembled a human slammed into a parked car. Bright yellow eyes with a reptilian pupil glowed in the sunset as it found the form of the young woman aiming directly at him and the child clutching at the three girls behind her. Nothing was out of the ordinary as it hissed a laugh and moved towards the humans.

 

“Give me the girl and I will ssssspare your livessssss.”

 

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she focused, there was no shard of the Shikon no Tama so, it would be a little more difficult without something to guide her eyes.

 

`I'm not as good an archer as Kikyou but, I can at least hit my target eight out of ten times now!'

 

“I don't think so.”

 

She called out to the youkai, drawing the bowstring further back as she matched her arrow to the thing's throat. After a while, Kagome had learned to aim higher than she wanted the arrow to fly, usually that strategy worked like a charm and she was hoping that it would work once more for her now.

 

“Go away and I won't fire this arrow.”

 

The snake just laughed again and started to come towards her.

 

“Ssssstupid girl. I will eat the child firsssssst and then perhapssssss I will make you watch your little friendssssss be dessstroyed.”

 

A forked tongue tasted the air as it slunk towards her, bulbous yellow eyes staring directly at her as it crawled swiftly towards her.

 

“You asked for it, hit the mark!”

 

Kagome's voice rang out sharply into the air, the faces of the people inside the restaurant following her every movement as she let the arrow fly from her hand. Blue-grey eyes narrowed as she lowered the bow, notching another arrow just in case she needed to make another shot.

 

`Please hit…'

 

The arrow suddenly seemed to explode with blue-white light, an aura resembling a mighty comet with a trailing tail covering the arrow and embedded itself into the youkai's stomach, blasting the snake youkai into half as she readied the second arrow and carefully walked over to where the head had fallen in front of the second half of the body. Her eyes hardened and narrowed as the snake's head tried to snap out and dig its fangs into her legs. The arrow was held just above the head as she released it, the blue-white light appearing again and dissolving the youkai's head in a burst of purifying light.

 

“Got it. You won't be trying to eat anyone else now.”

 

Eri watched the little girl break from Yuka and Ayumi's grip and run over to Kagome, one little hand tugging on her friend's skirt to grab her attention.

 

`Kagome-chan…you weren't lying…'

 

Kagome sighed and looked at the bow in her hands, examining it for wear or any weakness in the wood after her little adventure with it. So far it seemed sound and unharmed. She sighed as she shouldered the bow and turned around to head back to return the borrowed equipment and was stopped by the feeling of something tugging on her skirt.

 

`Huh? Oh, the little girl…'

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Kagome asked as she knelt next to the little girl, tearing off a long piece of her skirt and wrapping it around the sluggish wound on the child's arm. She watched it slowly begin to close as she wrapped it and looked up. A slit for a pupil expanded slightly as the blue-grey eyes stared into hers. The black hair changed to silver and her ears vanished, reappearing as mini triangles atop her head. Red markings were on her eyelids as a familiar symbol was covered slightly by her thick hair. Kagome swallowed hard and found herself speaking aloud.

 

“You're a hanyou aren't you?”

 

The little girl nodded and looked behind her, ears perking forward as she seemed to hear something. She swallowed hard and looked at Kagome.

 

“What's your name?”

 

“Are you alrigh-”

 

“Please! Tell me your name.”

 

Kagome looked surprised by the desperation in the little girl's voice before she smiled softly at the anxious child.

 

`She's so cute. I wonder if she's worried about getting me in trouble?'

 

“Higurashi Kagome, but what's your nam-”

 

The little girl nodded and raced off before Kagome finished her question, quickly disappearing down the road as sirens began to sound. She frowned as she stood up, the wind blowing her hair into her eyes as she absently pushed it behind her ears and shook her head before looking down at the remains of the snake youkai.

 

`I might not have a chance to live a normal life if people are being attacked like this…'

 

“Who was she?”

 

Kagome asked to no one in particular as she turned to meet the awed looks on her friends' faces and those of the people pouring out of the restaurant to come and crowd around her. She looked confused as people began talking excitedly amongst each other, saying that she was a famous actress filming a scene with an impromptu cast of extras and other things to explain her strange performance. Kagome handed the bow to the girl she had borrowed it from and the quiver to the guy she had snatched it from and thanked them for letting her borrow it before turning to walk home.

 

“Thanks, and I'm sorry I broke two of your arrows.”

 

People were still chattering when Eri, Yuka and Ayumi caught up to the rapidly retreating Kagome. They were still stunned by what they had seen.

 

“So that little girl called you a miko, does that actually mean that the light we saw was purifying magic?!”

 

“Kagome-chan, that was the single most awesome thing I've ever seen in my life!”

 

“You're like a super-hero now Kagome-chan!”

 

`I'm a super-hero?'

 

Kagome stopped as she realized what she had just done. Her friends stopped chatting excitedly and looked at Kagome as they saw her fists clench and her shoulders start to shake. Eri reached out and touched her shoulder softly, her voice concerned as she noticed the tear that fell down Kagome's face, illuminated by the rapidly sinking sun.

 

“Kagome-chan? Are you alright?”

 

Kagome jerked away from her friend's hand and took off running towards the entrance to the shrine on the corner ahead of them. Small damp spots on the pavement were examined by the three girls as they looked at each other.

 

“Why was she crying? She just did something totally awesome and helped someone?”

 

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Kagome avoided her brother and grandfather, huddling behind the Goshinboku as she buried her head in her hands and wept. In saving that little hanyou girl's life she had just forfeited any chance she had had of living a normal life.

 

`No matter where I go, I always end up needing to use these stupid powers of mine to help someone! Why can't I just be selfish for once and be normal?!'

 

Thunder boomed in the distance, rain starting to patter softly on to the pavement and rooftops as a downpour began in the city of Tokyo. She huddled still beneath the great tree that had lived over five hundred years from the past until now. Soaked to the skin and not really caring about anything except trying to find a way to get rid of her powers and become normal.

 

`I know how Kikyou feels now, how she must have hated being a miko and a protector of the Shikon no Tama.'

 

Kagome turned her face to the sky, the cold rain almost like a physical slap to her burning face as tears blended and merged with the rain that slid down her cheeks. Her hair was plastered to her face, neck and back as she watched the lightning fork across the city in bright flashes of light and power.

 

“I'll never be normal…I'll always have these powers and I'll always have to use them when something happens.”

 

She said quietly to the tree. Of course it still hurt that she would never be like one of her friends, just saying it aloud made her feel a little less heavy and burdened. As if saying it aloud was just confirming what she had known and tried to ignore for a long time.

 

“I have nowhere to belong. I'm too weak to live in the past and too strong to live here in the present. Where do I belong and who am I?”

 

Something warm and dry suddenly covered her head and shoulders, startling her as she looked up, hands gripping the blanket as she looked up to see her mother holding an absolutely gigantic umbrella over the two of them as she knelt beside her.

 

`What?'

 

“Mama?”

 

Her mother smiled at her softly as she transferred the umbrella to her other hand and hugged her daughter's shivering form tightly. She spoke softly to the frightened and desperate girl looking up at her.

 

“You are Kagome, not just a miko and a warrior with incredible power and strength and definitely not someone who is useless. If you need to be anyone Kagome, you are my precious daughter and you are loved by your friends and family.”

 

Mrs. Higurashi told her firmly though not unkindly as she hugged her daughter tightly. Kagome broke into a fit of sobs as she hugged her mother tightly and cried into her chest. Great wracking sobs that carried out the pain she had been hiding from not being able to be a “normal” girl and replaced the pain with a brief sense of peace and well being as she fell asleep, still crying, in her mother's arms.

 

`Oh Kagome…you have so much on your shoulders and you try to carry the burden alone. Let us help you, my daughter.'

 

“You'll be alright Kagome…Everyone has faith in you and we love you very much.”

 

She said softly to her sleeping daughter and leaned against the tree, her head leaning against her daughter's as she wrapped the blanket around the both of them and fixed the umbrella in a suspiciously handy hole in the Goshinboku to keep the rain off of them.

 

“Thank you Goshinboku, for watching over and protecting my family for so many generations.”

 

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