Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Evolution ❯ Failure ( Chapter 14 )

Evolution

 

OooooO

 

It had been several weeks since Kagome began to stay with the clan of thieves as their personal healer. In that time she had seen numerous wounds of all kinds. Most of them were poisoned. It seemed the hunters knew that there was little chance of defeating the thieves in a one on one battle, so they hoped that the poison would kill the youkai later on. There was no such luck. Seiryoku had later instructed Kagome on youkai poisons, and basic antidotes. Combined with the superior medication of her time, there was nothing that stood in Kagome's way. It made her feel useful. She was being used, yes, just like Inuyasha used her for the jewel shards, but there was no sense of guilty obligation, and she certainly wasn't degraded for it. No, the position gave her respect, something she sometimes felt she didn't receive from her hanyou companion. Granted, clan members still sneered in her direction, but those were becoming few and far between.

 

Kagome sighed and dunked her head into the water backwards, her breasts thrusting into the air. She came back up, her wet hair creating a dark arc in the air tipped with clear crystals of water. Kagome reposition her hair so that it was hanging down her back after she squeezed the excess water from its confines. When she was finished, she turned to get out and dry herself. She had grabbed her towel when she noticed the hem of white pants. `Well, that could be anyone, since everyone wears white pants. Well, except for Kuronue that is.' Kagome thought as embarrassment slowly began to overcome her. `Knowing my luck, it's not Seiryoku.' Kagome's eyes traveled upward. Blue eyes connected with violet.

 

“ Iiiiiiyaaaaahhh!” Kagome shrieked, causing Yomi to wince.

 

“ You pervert! Sneak! Get out of here!” Kagome spotted a loose stone and picked it up. She chucked it at the youkai, who narrowly dodged it.

 

“ Dammit woman, stop screaming!” Yomi shouted. Kagome ignored him in favor of yelling some more.

 

“ Yomi, you perverted jerk! Get out of here before I hurt you! Pervert!” Kagome screamed, face turning red. She threw more stones at the youkai, who dodged them gracefully, quickly making an escape. Kagome huffed angrily, her body heaving from her shouting. She hurriedly stepped out of the spring and dried herself before stepping into one of Seiryoku's outfits. Then she proceeded to storm after Yomi.

 

She found him in the main room, growling angrily to himself under his breath.

 

“ Yomi! You bastard!” Kagome raged. The clan looked up and began to whisper amongst themselves. Kagome had never sworn before. Yomi scowled at Kagome, his eyes narrowed.

 

“ What's your damn problem?!” Yomi snapped. Kagome puffed up in her righteous anger.

 

“ My damn problem?! I'll tell you my damn problem, you perverted idiot! You were spying on me while I was taking a bath you jerk!” Kagome shouted. Yomi winced from the volume of Kagome's voice.

 

“ Will you stop your damn yelling! You sound like a damn banshee from hell!” Yomi snapped. Kagome's face turned a deep shade of red and her eyes burned with fury at Yomi's words.

 

“ No I will not stop yelling! You were spying on me, you pervert!”

 

“ Spying-? Why the hell would I want to do that? I can barely stand to look at you, you're so ugly!” Yomi replied sharply. Silence immediately fell in the caves, and Yomi drew himself back, knowing he had said the wrong thing. Kagome paused, but no tears gathered in her eyes, and calm seemed to come over her. From his experience with Seiryoku, Yomi knew he was in for a beating.

 

“ I see. No wonder you don't have much success with women. You attitude is so disgusting and repulsive it scares them all away,” Kagome said coolly. With that, she stalked out of the caves, predictably going up to the top of the hill to sulk in peace. Yomi felt like he had been slapped in the face. Of course he knew he had deserved those words. Since Kagome had healed him the first night, there had been an invisible line, an unspoken rule between them. They often got into fights, and Yomi frequently teased her into rage, just to see her blue eyes spark in anger. But afterwards, he would sit with her and they would have a companionable silence. It was a routine that Kagome had no doubt grown used to, a constant where she was surrounded by variables. Where she was surrounded by traitors, liars, and thieves, she could count on Yomi to take her mind off of those things and others. But he crossed the invisible line, and whatever form of companionship they had disintegrated with Yomi's callous words. He stared longingly at the entrance of the cave, battling with himself. Would he, for the first time in his life, give a sincere apology, or would he leave Kagome to her undeserved misery? Yomi gave an inaudible sigh, and moved to the opening of the caves.

 

It only took a few moments to find Kagome, who was sitting on the very edge of the small cliff overlooking the forests and the lands beyond. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, and her eyes glared out into nothingness. Yomi noted guiltily that they were misty with tears. Yomi sat down next to her.

 

“ What do you want now? I thought was I too ugly to look at,” Kagome said dully. Yomi remained silent, gazing at Kagome's contorted face. His fist clenched. She really hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, he had. He hadn't meant to “spy” on Kagome, but he wanted to relax in the springs for a bit, but then he saw her in the water. He had intended to leave immediately, but she turned slightly and he caught sight of her beautiful body. Yomi was no stranger to the opposite sex, but most of the women he had lain with had not one scar on their bodies. But Kagome did. And it made Yomi realize that she was used to fighting, and that turned Yomi on. He wasn't used to having a willful woman. He questioned her backgrounds. What gave her those scars? Did she come from slavery, like he had? Did she have an abusive family? Or did she simply fight? After all, he doubted that one got a bite mark on her hip as large as that from a human. But she had claw punctures in her arms, as if someone had grabbed her roughly. Down one arm had been a long, thin scar, probably made by something similar to a knife. On her back were gashes made by claws. Her knees were badly scarred, as if she had fallen to her knees many times. Fury burned in Yomi's chest at thought of someone forcing Kagome to pleasure them. His honor may have been nonexistent, but he did not condone forcing a woman. Yomi turned his thoughts to the matter at hand.

 

“ I did not mean what I said. Sometimes I say things I do not mean when I am angry,” Yomi said. Kagome snorted.

 

“ Freudian slip,” she sneered. Yomi arched a brow.

 

“ What on earth is that?” he inquired. Kagome rolled her eyes.

 

“ Of course you wouldn't know. How could I have been so stupid?” Kagome said snidely. Yomi huffed.

 

“ Dammit woman, can't you see I'm trying to apologize?!” Yomi snapped. Kagome glanced at the frustrated youkai. Then she smiled weakly.

 

“ When you said that to me…it reminded me of a friend of mine…” Kagome started slowly. Yomi snorted.

 

“ What kind of friend insults you?” Yomi asked. Kagome arched a brow at Yomi. He scoffed.

 

“ You can't possibly think me to be your friend,”

 

“ And why wouldn't I?” Kagome asked softly. Yomi stared at her, taken aback. Kagome shook her head and continued on.

 

“ When I first met him, he said I smelled awful, and that I wasn't very pretty at all,” Kagome smiled wistfully, “ But then he was injured fighting a clan of spider youkai. He had been severely poisoned, and his body was having some trouble fighting off the toxins. I was taking care of him, and he said I smelled nice. Then he told me that he was lying, when we first met, and that I had a very nice scent. You…you remind me of him.” Kagome looked up at Yomi and flashed him a brilliant smile.

 

“ You miss your friends,” Yomi stated. Kagome nodded sorrowfully.

 

“ I wish I could see them again, and make sure that they're all right. There's this little kit I take care of. He's probably been traumatized, since he's already seen his parents die in front of him, and now I'm gone too, and no one else in our group is very good at taking care of him,” Kagome said, “ Do you think Youko will let me see my friends again?” Yomi stared down at Kagome, and gave her an honest answer.

 

“ Youko is a cold hearted bastard. For some reason, he's interested in you, and you had better hope he stays interested in you,” Yomi replied.

 

“ Why's that?”

 

“ Because once he's not interested in you anymore, he'll kill you,” Yomi replied simply. Kagome's eyes widened.

 

“ W-what? But why?” Kagome asked fearfully. Yomi sighed, his head hanging a bit.

 

“ You, Kagome, have become Youko's only weakness,” Yomi paused, and was preparing to move on, when a shout interrupted him.

 

“ Kagome! We need you, now!” Ryuujin shouted from the cave entrances. Kagome moved swiftly, already giving out orders.

 

“ Yomi, hurry and get my medical supplies. Ryuujin, get some warm water and some cloth. Ryuuza, get him comfortable and tell me what happened to him,” Kagome barked. She kneeled down beside the heavily bleeding youkai. The heavy scent of blood made Kagome nauseous, and when she saw the wound, she very nearly passed out. His intestines were spilling out of him from a deep gash that went across his stomach. Some of the organs had been torn, no doubt by whatever had ripped the youkai, Tei, open. Kagome hurriedly began wiping up the blood, but it was no use; he continued to bleed. She carefully put the organs back inside Tei's body, when the futileness of the situation hit her. There was no way to heal Tei, not unless…Kagome glanced down at her hands, slick with blood. Swallowing, she placed her hands in the wound and over the intestines and concentrated. She had never healed with her holy magic before, but she hoped it would work.

 

“ C'mon Tei, you've gotta hang on,” Kagome murmured. The youkai moaned pitifully, sweat covering his face. His features were twisted with pain, and he was rapidly growing pale. As soon as the organs were healed, she stuffed them back inside his body, ignoring the way their slick, slimy texture made her sick to her stomach. Next, she concentrated on healing the wound. Her brows furrowed as she worked, sweat sliding down the side of her face. `I can't fail. I can't let him die…' Kagome thought desperately. She couldn't fail, not now that she had revealed her holy magic. She continued to pour her magic through her fingers, ignoring the voices around her. Tears gathered in her eyes. She couldn't let someone die under her watch. Somehow, these crude, ill mannered men had grown on her, and Kagome refused to let one of them die.

 

“ Kagome, stop! You're healing a corpse!” Seiryoku shouted in her ear. Kagome reeled back, falling on her rump.

 

“ W-what?” Kagome asked weakly. Seiryoku looked down at Kagome.

 

“ Kagome…he died,” she said.

 

“ No! That's impossible!” Kagome looked at Tei's body desperately. The wound had been completely sealed, but Tei's chest was no longer moving. Kagome crawled up his body, then pushed on his chest, willing his heart to start moving. She blocked his nose and breathed into his mouth, filling his lungs with air. When that didn't work, she settled her finger tips on his chest before giving him a shock from her purification powers to jump start his heart. Tremors danced through Tei's body, and Kagome could smell his skin as it charred slightly. She shocked him several more times when it became obvious to her that Tei was very dead, and she couldn't bring him back. Tears welled in her eyes. He had bled to death right beneath her very fingers. Kagome looked down at her hands that were coated in his blood. Hands that had failed to save Tei. And it was all her fault. Because in the end, she wasn't strong enough. In the end, she wasn't like Kikyo.

 

With that thought in mind, Kagome promptly fainted.

 

XevolutionX

 

“…she's dangerous! She was glowing with holy magic!”

 

“ In an effort to save Tei,”

 

“ She's a priestess and she knows it! It's not the bounty hunters we should be afraid of, it's own damn healer!”

 

That angry voice sounded like Takahiro's.

 

“ You can't be angry with girlie. She hasn't been hostile towards us at all. She has healed us when she could've purified us. She could've killed us all in our sleep, but she didn't. I say she's trustworthy.”

 

That was definitely Koroku. He was the only one who called her “girlie”. The calm voice was no doubt Youko, though Kagome had a hard time imagining Takahiro actually arguing with the stronger youkai.

 

“ Be silent. She wakes.”

 

That was Seiryoku. After all, she was the only female besides Kagome around. Kagome's eyes fluttered open. She was lying in Seiryoku's bed, and the council, Yomi, Kuronue, Seiryoku, and Youko were all there. Takahiro seemed to be glaring at her, while the others had more neutral looks on their faces. Kagome tried to sit up, but her head protested. She had the most awful headache the world had ever seen, she was sure of it.

 

“ Kagome,” Youko said. Kagome's eyes immediately flew to the youkai, who was leaning lazily against the wall.

 

“ I have asked you this question before, but now I am going to ask you again. Are you, or are you not, a priestess?” Youko inquired.

 

“…untrained…” Kagome wheezed, trying to wet her mouth with her saliva.

 

“ I see. And what are these, exactly?” Youko withdrew a familiar glass bottle from his tunic. Kagome's eyes narrowed as she tried to determine the object, but the tingle of magic behind her eyes told Kagome all she needed to know. She stretched her hand pathetically towards the bottle.

 

“ Mine,” she rasped weakly.

 

“ Not until I find out what they are,” Youko replied. He had his suspicions, but he would prefer for Kagome to answer herself. The would be priestess slumped resignedly.

 

“ Shikon shards…” she answered. She could feel the gazes of all the youkai in the room instantly become more concentrated on her.

 

“ What are you doing with shards of the Shikon no Tama?” Youko asked coolly.

 

“ Mine,” Kagome repeated.

 

“ Youko, can't this wait until later? She's obviously too weak to do anything right now,” Seiryoku interrupted. Youko's eyes flickered towards the dog youkai, but he ignored her.

 

“ Why are these shards yours?” Youko asked, twirling them around his finger by the chain. Kagome narrowed her eyes, trying her best to glare at the fox youkai.

 

“ Duty…guardian…” Kagome answered pathetically. Youko's eyes narrowed dangerously.

 

“ You are the guardian of the Shikon no Tama?” Youko inquired. Kagome hesitated, but slowly nodded her head.

 

“ Fuck, we've been keeping an all powerful priestess here the entire time?!” Takahiro raged.

 

“ It sounds like it,” Koroku answered nonchalantly.

 

“ Which further solidifies the fact that Kagome has never intended any harm. If she had, she would have attempted to purify us all when she first arrived,” Kuronue answered from the corner.

 

“ I don't know how you all can't not care about this. I happen to like my life very much, thank you,” Takahiro snapped.

 

“ Failed…” Kagome murmured. All attention settled on Kagome once more.

 

“ What did you fail?” Seiryoku inquired.

 

“ Tei…” Kagome mumbled.

 

“ You cannot expect to save everyone, Kagome,” Ryuuza pointed out. Kagome sniffled as tears began to gather under her eyes.

 

“ Not like Kikyo,” she whispered, before she lost herself to darkness once more.

 

OooooO

 

Youko watched as Kagome woke up once more. The others had left the room hours before, leaving the King of Thieves alone with the sleeping human. Youko had to admit, he was surprised when Kagome started to use her magic to heal one of his men. When that had not proved to be enough, she had drawn power from the shards resting in his hand. It resulted in a mass ambush from several lower youkai, all of whom were looking for the power source. Since she had drawn from the shards, several more youkai had come to find them. Youko suspected that when she used the shards, she unknowingly broke a seal on them that concealed their power. His golden eyes returned to Kagome as she released a breathy sigh upon waking.

 

“ You are awake,” Youko stated. Kagome's blue eyes that were clouded from sleep immediately flew to him. Youko smirked inwardly. He liked commanding attention with just his voice.

 

“ Give me back the shards,” Kagome demanded. Her voice was still weak, but a great deal stronger from before.

 

“ I was not aware of your prowess when I had you become our healer,” Youko said. Kagome huffed.

 

“ What prowess? I'm not even trained!” Kagome hissed. Youko smirked. He pulled out the glass bottle from his clothes and handed it to her.

 

“ Your shards. I have no use for a bauble that would only grant me false power,” Youko said. Kagome looked up at him wonderingly.

 

“ Thank you…” she murmured gratefully. Youko nodded, wincing when the action strained the wound on his back.

 

“ What's wrong?” Kagome asked.

 

“ Nothing,” Youko replied. Her eyes narrowed.

 

“ You are injured,” she stated. Youko glared at her, but he nodded.

 

“ Let me heal you,” Kagome insisted. Youko rolled his eyes.

 

“ It will heal itself within a day or two,” Youko replied.

 

“ Then what was the point of you dragging me here in the first place if you won't let me heal you?” Kagome demanded. Youko arched a brow, but conceded. He turned around and slipped off his tunic, revealing his muscled back to Kagome. He smirked when he heard her breath catch and caught the scent of her slight arousal. He rippled the muscles in his back, smirking wider when he heard her heart rate increase. He felt her small hands hesitantly placed themselves on his back lightly over top the slash that traversed his back. Youko felt the power rise within her, and a warm feeling washed through him, calming and soothing. As he lost himself in the feeling, he felt his skin knit back together. And then a thought registered to him. `She is taking care of me as if she were me my mate…' The idea made him smirk. `You, Kagome, are one step closer to being mine…'

 

“ Okay, all done!” Kagome said cheerfully. Youko slipped his top back on and turned to face Kagome. The use of her holy magic seemed to have made her even tired, but she ignored it as she slipped the bottle over her neck. However, as she glanced down at her hands, her mood became more solemn.

 

“ I'm sorry about Tei…I failed him,” Kagome said sorrowfully. Youko tilted his head. `How can she feel sad for a youkai she barely knew?'

 

“ He was a thief. We all are. We all know the risks of being a thief. As a traitor to his clan, they were all out for his blood anyway. He knew he would die sooner or later. You tried to save him, and that is all that can be asked of you,” Youko said. Kagome sniffled.

 

“ But he died…” Kagome said. The tears slowly slipped down her face, and something clenched inside of Youko at seeing her so sad. Sighing, he slowly drew the crying girl to his chest. When it appeared she would not be stopping soon, a soft rumble rose in his chest as he began to purr gently to calm her nerves. Her tears slowly stopped until all that remained were the occasional sniffle, but even that ceased as Youko's purring eventually put Kagome to sleep. With that, Youko kept guard over Kagome the rest of the night.

 

OooOooOooOooOooOoo

 

Freudian slip is when you say something you unconsciously think about someone, but really don't mean to say. When Kagome said that, she meant that Yomi really thought she was ugly, and had accidentally said it. Another phrase, “slip of the tongue”, may come to mind. Go to wikipedia.org for a better explanation.

 

Yay! I've reached over 200 reviews! You guys were probably all expecting that, but I want to celebrate anyway! Also, I didn't imagine that my request for longer reviews would be answered so spectacularly. But that doesn't mean I still don't want longer reviews, so, if you all don't mind, keep it up! I tried to give you guys your request in return, and tried to put in a little YoukoKag action. Sorry if it seems OOC. I didn't like that scene real well. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, and keep them coming!