Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Her Spirit ❯ Shifts ( Chapter 9 )

Amidst the heavy screen of woods, the sounds of shifting wind reached the demon's ears. An unusual sound, as the forest around his home was usually as still as the death he worked to prevent, and even the birds and wind that he could usually only see for their affecting the environment were curiously still.

Although no sounds emitting from his forest was normal, the unusual quality of this silence was not.

So the hulking mass of a seemingly ageless demon raised itself from his crouched position, and he turned to face his disturbed woods.

Who would dream to even seek me out?

He took in a deep breath, trying to isolate exactly the reason why his forest was feeling such tumultuous fright and need. He shook his large head, and turned it to the side, the better for one wide set eye to get the full view of the troubled area of his forest and lands.

The stillness didn't really unnerve him, as he knew none would dare come so far to what was his just to harm him; there would be a very good reason to harm what he considered his though. Eyes narrowed at a perceived threat taking note of the positions of all he deemed his creatures in the immediate vicinity.

His forest was so unusual because of the animals that inhabited it, for someone to come so far into his domain…would mean that they were poaching his animals. A deep hiss came from his mouth, and he straightened himself up to his full height, larger than what he used to be in the sengoku era, and far more stronger. He would protect what was his.

All was for naught, as in the next moment the demon lord of the west himself emerged from the shadowy foliage as if he was once apart of it. If the Lord was the intruder, he would have no interest in any means - other than his own - to increase his power and status; that much he admired about the lord, and so he would hear him out.

“Sesshoumaru-sama. What brings you to my humble lands?”

A regal eyebrow lifted and the demon lord shifted a casual look around the forest, before the lord smirked in amusement. “Your humble lands contain the one I seek,” a sharp glance was thrown his way from those golden eyes, “as what the fates set in motion so long ago is finally coming to pass.”

The broad figure straightened, turning his head to the stars and searching for his answer.

The wind whistled one long hollow note through the still trees, and he nodded his head. “So it would seem the truth.” So the larger demon shook his head and made a sweeping and elaborate gesture to a certain path through a very certain set of trees- made all the more impressive by the hefty size and length of the arm used in the gesturing; an arm that was scarred and calloused with work and weather and few battle scars.

The lord nodded his assent and the two forms walked through the peculiarly illuminated path, being careful to watch where they placed their steps and cautious as to where they left their marks.

They broke through the dense foliage to come upon a well tended garden; meticulous rows of tilled dark earth the only thing breaking the fresh and straight green herbs planted painstakingly and lovingly.

Sesshoumaru only hesitated slightly, almost unnoticeably if not for the fact that he had not had a visitor of such importance - let alone one at all - for such a long time that he had been watching the lord ever so carefully, before he spoke. “Jinenji-san, I had not planned to contact you so early, but there have been some miscalculations in the plans we had arranged- Enma-sama is increasingly wary of losing his power.”

Jinenji sighed gustily, the faint whistling undertone letting the forest come back to its semblance of life; nothing was seriously wrong, the world as his forest lived was going to survive even if their master and lord was unsettled.

And he was unsettled.

Outwardly calm, thinking deeply and thoroughly, but unsettled. They could feel it. But it wasn't enough for them to panic, oh no, this had nothing to do with them; at least, not for the moment.

Jinenji took a deep breath as he settled himself down to a more comfortable height for the conversation that was sure to ensue. Sesshoumaru followed his lead, settling himself elegantly upon one of the grassy knolls that Jinenji's forest created in abundance. “The spirits and would-be-gods have always clung to their power, what is so different this time?”

Sesshoumaru gave him a criticizing look - as if judging Jinenji for his faithfulness - before he finally conceded: “Our miko has already been ensnared in their sight. And they were present when first contact was made.”

Jinenji's startled eyes turned to the lord before they spun around to stare into the sky again, and the wind and leaves and animals were still with his unease. “Kagome-sama is returned?”

The demon lord Sesshoumaru nodded his head and scowled lightly as he gazed into obscure facts and rumors. “We sent out first contact, but I was unable to aid our Shiori with the barrier to keep it from the Reikai scales; although they only knew it because they were present at the shrine itself.”

Jinenji gained a curious look upon his face before he nodded, “Kagome has always been one with hidden power; I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow encouraged some sort of barrier to grow around her shrine should such occasion arise for this necessary expediency.”

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed with the knowledge and a nod of his head told Jinenji that he had already thought of this once before. But then again, their miko always was one to surprise them. It would be best if they kept their minds open for when they really found out the truth- lest they be shocked into weakness.

Jineji smiled and threw his head back while he closed his eyes. A deep breath and a faint hum of his youki along the earth set his forest to its semblance of life again, and he turned back the lord beside him with a grin. “I think she will be very pleased to see us so soon.”

And amidst the heavy screen of woods and upon a grassy knoll, the two powerful and ancient demons reflected on plans and the future with the disarming grin of two predators not intending to kill their prey.

.x.

Yukio sighed as he walked up the shrine steps to what he hoped would be a better encounter. He cringed slightly as he recounted most of his previous encounters with the Higurashi children. No matter what he always somehow ended up offending one of them- and when one was offended so was the other.

But he hadn't meant for it to be taken so harshly…just like he hadn't meant to get so close to the family.

His mission had been to watch, protect, and wait, only taking time once and a while to be the Good Samaritan of a stranger when the family needed help. In fact; when he thought back; he had been there for a long time.

He sighed as he made it to the top of the grounds and stopped to pay his respects to the Goshinboku. He had been there when their father had …left. And he had been there as they grew up and there when the well shed had collapsed onto the ancient and revered structure it had protected from the elements.

He scowled lightly as he flicked his hair out of his face and let his visage soften into the sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his chest and make his shoulders sink. He hadn`t meant to fall in love with the lovely Higurashi matriarch, but he had. And dammit he was screwing everything up!

He mopped his face with his hands and reflected back to why he came today of all days. He had to confess; the elder child had been giving him searching looks, and he had to come clean soon or risk her finding out on her own under worse circumstance.

The tension was building, as the ningens were not stupid despite what most of those residing in makai thought, and he could already see some of those reactions he so feared appearing…

But then, he could also see the reactions of the Higurashi siblings- surprising him with the little smiles and proud looks they displayed, this all-knowing aura that seemed to cling to them no matter the circumstance. He had always been safe in the fact that he was able to think of the family as a means to an end- but now they were human and sometimes vulnerable and so much more than a duty. He loved the matriarch- and he had to be accepted by the children before she would think of anything further. But those children were so unnerving. They were special and knowledgeable and …intimidating.

Their eyes seemed to know, and the kids seemed to wait and watch and smile.

Yukio shivered; especially Kagome's. Those two reactions told him that some would not react as harshly to what was coming, not like what he expected from certain sects of the population.

The cults - the ones attended by those with any real sensitivity - were growing restless, and they knew something was going to happen. If any of those types got an inkling as to what was happening then there would be sacrifices and blood rites and some stupid demon taking advantage of their occult mentality.

The government- heavens and deities forbid they ever get some type of control. Yukio shook his head with a disgusted look, those ruling powers made such a mess of their world, what would they do with the three?

Suddenly he stopped and stiffened, and as he slowly turned he saw the gaze of the two siblings watching his back as he thought at the base of what had been once described as her tree; Heiwa no miko.

Their mother was smiling at him and he couldn't help the answering smile, even if he had tried. He knew he couldn't help it.

So it was with his dopey love-sick grin that he spotted the look the eldest was giving him and it startled that expression right off his face. Indescribable as it was, he turned to his courting partner and bowed slightly. “If you wouldn't mind giving me some time,” he hesitated, “I believe I need to speak to your daughter.”

Wondering brown eyes drifted to the just mentioned daughter before the woman gave an accepting answer and took her son into the house gently, leaving the courtyard to only two.

Two who knew.

“Yes Yukio?”

He motioned with his head for them to sit on the bench in front of the sacred tree, and he only had to take a slight pause as he noticed how much there was a reaction to her presence. Her elegant movements seated her as close as possible and the very air seemed to hum with an intense feeling of joy before the young woman giggled and brought him back to his less ethereal senses.

He softly chuckled - sheepishly - and seated himself a little ways down the bench. To which Kagome gave him an odd searching look- only causing him to blush more. He never had been really good with kids, and he supposed it was just the deities' ironic way of scolding him; to make him fall in love with a woman who birthed not one but two beautiful children.

Let alone one child being her…

He was brought sharply to face her when she abruptly threw her head back and took a deep breath. “Kami, I love my shrine.”

Yukio felt his face go slack and his eyebrows rise at the rather random conversation opener, before he thought about it more. This was not a child; in fact this was a woman who was said to be one of the most influential miko in history. This woman understood the meanings underneath, so he had to understand as well.

`…MY…shrine;' She knew.

She knew.

O kami, she knew.

Yukio stood up abruptly and spun to face her directly. Her shocked face looked up at him, before her mouth formed a little amused smile and she shook her head as she patted the bench beside her once more.

“I don't bite you know.” Her grin turned all together too mischievous. “Of course, I have been told that I do bark much worse.”

Yukio startled at the admission and could only blush at his childishness. This was a miko who was renowned for accepting all- and here he was frightened of her for simply knowing. She gave him a welcoming and small smile and he sighed. “You do know. And I am sorry if I offended you.”

A laugh: “No offense taken, since it wasn't your intent.”

Yukio sighed and took his seat again; he had found himself sighing too much lately. Reflecting on harsh and hasty decisions made too quickly and his immense lack of knowledge when dealing with his new situation in life made for one very regretful and melancholy hanyou (1). He loved his courted, and he loved this shrine- the history just seemed to ooze into your skin and take you to the better days of openness and true hierarchy.

He just hadn't known how to deal with children…at all! So how was he supposed to react? -Especially to her, of all people. She was a legend amongst them- the rebels who were searching for the cure to the sick lands of makai. He had grown up hearing stories of all that she had accomplished- all that she had taught! And here she was young enough to be his niece from his younger brother's mate!

He shook his head and mopped his face as he sent her a searching glance from the corner of his eye, and sighed (once again!) as he started. He might as well get it over with before he got any more nervous; “I am amongst those who rebel against the stigma of makai, and search for the higher peace and order you advocated in your travels.” She smiled brightly and nodded her head- now sure that her teachings were reaching through the generations. “I was assigned by my group to watch over you and yours, to make sure that you were able to accomplish what had already been accomplished. I had been around this shrine for most of my life, and never have I seen it come alive as it had when you returned with your powers fully activated.”

She sent him a sly glance, and with a start he realized that he was darting around the subject she would most want to know about- and she knew it. But he persisted; “I am to make sure that you are protected until your consort of fellow ancients get here;”

He was cut off by her hand on his arm, “I have figured as much- Yukio. What I want to know is if you really love my mother.”

He opened his mouth to reply, start saying that yes, he does love her mother, with all his heart; but his gaze had been inexplicably locked into hers and he found himself lost in the gaze all the other ancients had never talked about.

It was rumored that she could hypnotize you with that stare, and makes you repent your sins and beg forgiveness with one look. He couldn't find any reason to disagree when he was younger- how else would she have gotten the allies she had?

But now as he looked into her eyes he understood. This was something you could describe and talk about and express again and again, but you would never be able to convey exactly what it was.

There was something ageless there, in the blue and brown that seemed to change color with every shift of the wind. There was the ever present compassion, and the always known calm. But it was the knowledge, the acceptance of this knowledge that seemed to grab you by your heart and soul and hold you until you fully understood.

And he found he couldn't answer adequately enough- for this child could see through him if he lied, and this child seemed so much more … powerful than any words he could find- no matter how eloquent.

“I…I love your mother…so much.” The sentence, broken as it was, had to be forced past his suddenly dry lips from an equally parched tongue. To his rising shame and horror he realized that he had a tear on his cheek, and only realized it when Kagome reached out and wiped it away with a gentle hand.

“Yukio, as long as it is love- there is nothing to be ashamed of.” She took a pause and collected her thoughts visibly on her face. “I was half afraid that you were just using her as an excuse to watch over us…”

He stood up abruptly; “NO!”

And she continued; “but only one who is truly in love will cease to spout flowery words of little meaning when seriously and truly asked that one question.” She drew up one leg and clasped her hands around it, sending any image he had of a regal and strictly trained miko crashing to the proverbial floor.

“You…? I don't….”

She smiled with a small dimple on her left cheek, and he distractedly wondered why he hadn't noticed that before. This creature in front of him was nothing like he was expecting- and he had watched her grow up! He had watched every fall, every test of her character…he had watched her and her bond with her brother, had watched when she had no father to turn to, he had even watched as this female took the first step into her destiny…

She entered the well house after her brother and he only faintly heard the conversation, but when the timbers and boards of the overhead structure started to moan and whine, he had the rising horror that he couldn't do anything- he had already pulled the Good Samaritan act that day and would be easily recognized and suspicious.

He sighed with release. “I'm not very good with people.” She nodded at his admission before a bemused smile made its way onto her face- her cheek didn't dimple with it and he found himself oddly missing it.

“I think you will be with time- you just have to remember something.”

He heard and smelled the panic of the two children, and only faintly saw the teens shadow cover the child's before there was too much dust and debris. The sounds of wood and time decaying and breaking and crashing on top of his two charges was horrifying to his sensitive ears- but as the dust settled and timbers settled he heard the faint breathing over the frantic sounds of the Higurashi and neighbors calling and searching for the two children.

He turned a mildly curious expression to her before she deigned to answer him. “If people can't accept you for what you are - hanyou, shy, reserved, and unsure - then there will be nothing true to that relationship as it grows to its eventual destruction.”

It seemed an eternity before the rubble was cleared and he had to watch as his eldest charge was pulled gently off her younger brother, and the dazed child recovered his wits enough to realize his sister was motionless. He found himself as grief stricken as the boy- even though he had no real connection to them. This was the way for him to be free- and there she was almost on deaths threshold.

But as he watched, it seemed that her spirit burst forth from her body in a precious breath of life and energy, and she only looked once sadly and confusedly at her family before she was pulled in a whirlwind of energy and time to disappear- leaving only a faint hovering of her soul as an awareness near her body.

He could only watch in shock- and wait.

So it was true…Kagome, the miko of peace had never really been to the past, but rather a physical manifestation of something they couldn't understand back then, and didn't really understand even now.

He watched her walk away, after she smiled at him with the dimple that he found he now adored, and couldn't help the overwhelmed feeling of awe and wonder and respect. That was the Heiwa no miko; the priestess of peace who preached of acceptance over time and effort and honest work. One of the few teachers in history who played a major role in all cultures and races, and one who always taught that acceptance - on any level - was the best start for anyone and the best way for people to live and grow.

And she would live by this as she had taught it when she was in the past.

As Her spirit had been in the past.

He nodded his head and started towards his courted with a smile- Kagome had approved of him and his relationship with her mother, now he had to come clean and hope for the best. That was the only way to start.

And it was the only way he would.

.x.

.x.X. .X.x.