InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Synthetic Twilight ❯ XX ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Such lovely silver hair! And those clothes! Are you from Europe?" the court women asked, some peeking at him over ornately colored fans with thinly veiled curiousity.
"Yeah, Europe, sure, whatever." Inuyasha answered absently, while watching Kagome walk through the garden with a woman. He doubted any of these women currently blushing coyly were of true nobility- simply courtesans looking for anyone of importance to be seen with to elevate their status. He knew their type well enough, hadn't he seen enough of them at the court where he had lived with his mother as a child?
They had arrived at this small city a few days earlier on their trek back to Sango and Miroku's village after a hunt. Apparently, the lord of this particular region had caught wind of a "powerful warrior-priestess" passing by and extended an invitation to their group to join them for a tour of their city- probably to assess how much of a threat Kagome presented. It was not too surprising, he supposed, with all the wars passing between human clans. A powerful priestess who could fell demons easily and then pick up a sword to fight amongst humans could quickly gain followers. A worshipping army who believed they were supported by the gods and led by a priestess... well, it was a scary thought to say the least.
He watched Kagome step carefully, she had complained about wearing the kimono and geta, she said it made walking very difficult. Sango said it was necessary that Kagome wear them, that if she wore her normal attire of armor and weapons, she would intimidate the daimyo and that was the last thing they wanted. Kagome looked across the pond to where he stood with the women and turned back to her conversation. Inuyasha frowned, since the night where they were locked in the shed, she had been avoiding him. While at first it was nice to had been given a reprieve from her anger, he honestly would rather have her shouting at him than silence. He was starting to grow worried for her, sometimes when she thought no one was looking, she would clutch the jewel tightly and wonder outloud how to rid herself of it. It was as though Kikyo's warning of it destroying her spirit was becoming true, she had even adopted Kikyo's mask of indifference at times. And so he began to follow her as he had done with Kikyo early in their relationship, always present, but always at a distance. He sighed, he missed being near her.


Kagome was secretly glad that she was to be passed off as a normal woman instead of say- a geisha with their high heeled shoes or nobility with their constricting layers of kimonos- she was struggling enough with the simple kimono and low heeled geta she was currently wearing. Don't lean forward, she worried as she walked beside the woman who had introduced herself as Maioko, daughter of the daiymo. Scratch that- she'd rather have been pawned off as a simple woman who worked in rice paddies, then she'd be able to wear zori instead, with their forgiving woven soles...
"They tell me that you're a priestess, what sort of duties would that entail when working with demonslayers?"
The question caught her off-guard, not because she hadn't been expecting it, but rather because of the blunt way the woman pausing to admire a water lily had asked. The two days that she had spent among the ladies of the court, they had spoke somewhat poetically, every sentence seemed to be carefully crafted to sound pleasant- a tradition that had fallen to the wayside in modern Japan. Kagome fanned herself lightly, What am I going to tell her? If I tell her what I really do, it'll cause trouble. She could feel her features falling into the expression that she had heard Inuyasha dub, "Kikyo's Mask". In truth, she really was trying to imitate the cool, regal look Kikyo had always seemed to exude when she saw her, Kagome hoped she did it some justice. "I'm afraid to admit that my role with the demonslayers has been largely exagerated. I merely purify the remains afterwards, I do not contribute much in way of combat." she had to mentally stamp out the urge to grind her teeth with that last sentence, but as far as she could tell, it came out naturally.
"Oh? The priests tell me you carry a considerably powerful aura, the strongest they've come in contact with."
"That may be, I would not know. I have not studied very long to become a priestess." Okay, that wasn't a complete lie. The most she had done at the shrine back home was sweep the sidewalk and sell good luck charms. Do shrines in this time even sell charms? "I mostly helped with the upkeep of my shrine, and was trained the very basics of ofudas and making barriers."
Maioko inclined her head, "I see. If I may be bold to ask another question, you have your hair cut short, but you do not carry yourself as one who has been shamed, so, are you in mourning?"
Kagome glanced to where Inuyasha stood across the pond. The first time she had cut her hair had been two weeks after the well had been sealed- the bathroom was in disarray, she stared angrily at the young woman staring back at her in the mirror, her face pale and dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. She had snapped, she ran into her room, grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut her hair off frantically. Her mother had stood silently, eyes wide at the sight that had greeted her in the bathroom. The cut had been horrible of course, but she had felt better with every thick piece that fell away onto the floor. She remembered holding her head high as she walked proudly in with her mother to the salon to fix the mess she had made. She chuckled fondly at the memory, "I suppose my reasons were a mixture of the two, that was a long time ago though, now I keep it short because I prefer it that way."
"How very odd! Your betrothed does not mind?" Maioko said, covering her smile with a hand.
"My who?!" Kagome stammered.
"The man across the way, he ignores the other women and looks only at you. I thought, surely..." she blanched and bowed, "Guard, then? Forgive me, I should not have asked."
"No, it's alright I guess. To be honest, I don't know what he is anymore."
"Hn. Saichko," Maioko called for the girl following several paces away obediently, "fetch my umbrella. You know," she said watching the girl scurry off, "if you were to be interested in furthering your studies as a priestess, I've heard about a spiritually powerful family that lives to the west. I'm certain that they would train you, or at least, they owe me a favor."
"Well..." Kagome trailed off. Well I guess I couldn't just smash the jewel to destroy it, I don't feel quite up for another shard hunt. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd greatly appreciate your generousity. Though, why offer such a thing to me?"
Maioko smiled again, "It is obvious to me that you are not acustomed to wearing a kimono, did you know? Your hand ventures to your side to grasp at nothing, much like the samurai that come here without their weapons on holiday."
"Have I been that obvious?" Kagome grimaced.
"Not to worry, Kagome-sama, most of the people here are focused on your beauty, they notice little else. I seek to strengthen my family's ties with potential allies, and- if you should ever decide to raise an army- I hope you will remember our hospitality."
"Me?" she laughed, "You really don't have anything to worry about."
"Still... you will find this family living in the moutainous southern region of Ishikawa, speak with Higurashi Yasuo and tell him that Maioko of Mito releases him of his debt for your training. Is something wrong? You look pale."
Higurashi... she could feel her heart pounding frantically, she had an ancestor named Yasuo... It couldn't be! Then again, how many people did she know with the last name 'Higurashi'? Oh, I think I'm going to be sick...
"Kagome-sama?" said cautiously.
"I-I'm fine. I was just, uh, overwhelmed with excitement that I'd be able to continue my training." she said nervously. What the hell could I say to them? 'Yo Yasuo! Guess what? I'm your ancestor from 500 years in the future! Neat, huh?'


Kagome sat across from Sango on a futon and picked the dirt from under her nails.
"I wonder if they'll let me keep some of these soaps," Sango said, picking up a bar and inhaling the light jasmine scent.
"I think so, they're trying to buy our friendship, have you noticed?"
"Our friendship? No, Kagome-chan, they're trying to buy yours. We're leaving to go back home tomorrow, and while it will only be a day's ride, most of it will be uphill."
"I'm kind of glad to be leaving, really."
"You are? I thought you were enjoying yourself here." Sango said, looking at Kagome curiously.
"I am, I mean, I had always wanted to see what a city was like in this time. But the more I'm around those women, the more I feel like a big, clumsy goose that somehow managed its way in the middle of a flock of swan."
Sango chuckled and tossed the sweet smelling bar of soap back into a basket, "You too, huh? I always felt like that when we were invited to meetings like this after hunts when I was younger too. The thing you have to remember though, is that some of them wish for what we have, freedom to do as they choose. I am not naive to think that what we have is commonplace in this time."
Kagome nodded, "Maioko-san offered me a chance to further my training in the west with a shrine family."
"I think you should go. You're a wonderful demonslayer, but to ignore your holy powers more than you have would be foolish."
"And I do really want to go, but... the shrine family, Sango- I think- actually, I'm fairly certain that they're my ancestors."
Sango looked up in interest, "Really? Then I'd go simply to see them, if for no other reason. Who has the chance to meet their ancestors like this? Go see them when you're ready, I'm sure Maioko's offer does not have a time constraint."
Kagome smiled, "Thanks for listening Sango-chan, I've missed the talks we used to have."
"So have I, good night, Kagome-chan."






AN: Has it really been over two weeks since my last update? Eek.
The puppy is indeed ugly, it's a Schnauzer... which I usually think are adorable, except they shaved it for the summer and its hair is growing in curly, making it look like a poodle. I think poodles are hideous. To add on that, when it gets excited, it pees. I know that's supposed to be a sign of submission and what not, but seriously though... not in the damn house!
I'll stick with my beta fish, The Incredibly Stinky Mr. Fishy and his fairly easy to maintain huge bowl with little fake plants that he could really care less about.

edit: Ahah whoops, I just noticed that I said Ishikawa was east of where they were, when it should have been west. West... who do we know that could possibly live there?