InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Windows on the West ❯ A Glimmer of Understanding ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer:  I do not own the characters of  Inuyasha.

-sSs-

Sesshoumaru stared into the fire as his mind turned over the miko's words of the other day.

She said that she has given her life for another.  How is that possible if she is still living?  I did not use Tenseiga, so...

“Tell me, miko... what did you mean when you said you had given your life for another?”

Kagome started, a little surprised that he had spoken.  It had been a very quiet night – he hadn't said two words since making camp, being even more taciturn than was usual for him.

“Oh... well, do you remember several months back when the full moon stuck around for much longer than it should have, and Naraku faked his own death?”

“Yes.”  He did, indeed, remember the feeling that Naraku's taint had been removed from the world – and then the irritation that had followed when that taint had returned.  And the mystery of the week-long full moon.  Oh, yes, he remembered.

“That was because of Kaguya, the celestial maiden.  But it wasn't really her,”  she said almost sadly.  “She'd been devoured by a youkai that was kinda like Naraku.  It had wanted her powers.  Anyway, she came after the real Kaguya's celestial robes, which a friend of ours, Hojo Akitoki, was carrying.  We were escorting him to Mt. Fushi to throw it into the mouth of the crater, and when she showed up, she immobilized Inuyasha by pinning him to a tree.  When I fired an arrow at her, she used her mirror to turn it around, aiming it at Inuyasha.”  A quiet sigh filtered from the girl as Sesshoumaru listened, almost spell-bound.  “When I saw the arrow coming at him, I just... jumped in front of him.  It took me in the back,”  she said softly.  “I would have died, but Kaguya wanted to keep me alive to absorb me, or I wouldn't still be here.”

Something flickered in his gaze.  “Why would a youkai want to absorb you, a human miko?”  he asked.

She chuckled.  “Surprising, ne?  But it was because I was immune to the effects of time.  She wanted that immunity.”

Brow furrowing, he thought about that.  Immune to the effects of time?  Does that mean that she is... not going to die as humans do?  “Tell me... have you ever considered what that immunity to time means for you?”

She blinked, then blinked again, obviously surprised.  “Means... for me?  What would it mean?”

“If you are immune to the effects of time, that would make you effectively much longer lived than the rest of your species, would it not?”

Shocked, she just stared at him, mouth hanging open for several seconds, before it snapped shut.  “Huh... I never thought of that.  But how would I find something like that out?”  she wondered aloud.

“There are ways.  Perhaps I will take you to a place to find out.”

She nodded, then looked over at him curiously.  “So... why did you want to know about what I said about dying?”

“This one was simply curious.  You were so... casual... about dying.  It is not... usual for humans to be so – truthfully, it is not usual for youkai to be so about death, either,”  he admitted, thinking back to his father's death, something uncomfortable flaring to life inside him at the remembrance.  

Eyes pinned to him, Kagome nodded again.  “Death is... one thing that we all have in common, I guess.  Even though youkai live much longer than humans... eventually, even they die.  That longer life doesn't make the end of it any easier, though,”  she said understandingly.  “Because the one dying always leaves someone behind.”

His eyes shifted to hers.  She... understands.  How is it that she understands me... and yet, I cannot fathom her?  She is such a young one, to understand so many things as she does.  Something came to him, then.  Her understanding, it didn't rely on age.  The wisdom she carried was innate to her – simply part of who she was.

Perhaps... perhaps that innate wisdom is the source of this 'love' she speaks of?  Could her understanding of life be the wellspring of the emotion she seems so full of?

He tilted his head in acknowledgment of her words, and they both went back to their silent perusal of the fire, enjoying the peace of their surroundings, and the tiny snores of the sleeping children...

And all the while, Sesshoumaru pondered upon his small epiphany on the miko's emotional makeup.

One tiny piece of the puzzle that was her had fallen into place.  He was most pleased.

-sSs-

A/N:  Mt. Fushi is the same as Fuji – in the Sengoku Jidai, it was known as Fushi, the mountain of immortality.

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