Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Her Spirit ❯ Confrontations ( Chapter 12 )

Kurama growled beside him, and Kuwabara found himself saddened that they had to approach the family like this. But Koenma had said jump, and though Kuwabara wasn`t actually in debt to the reikai - all his friends were. He would accompany them even though he wanted nothing to do with this mission.

Bring in the girl- Kagome.

He had felt the siblings' energy disappear on the property- and he knew they were still there. He had been able to access Genkai's scrolls, and actually found some pretty interesting things…but one thing had caught his eye. Talk of the true shrines as opposed to the shrines only that in namesake…where power had actually been present along the line of landholders that had occupied the area, and had taken care of the land and its people like no other could… without such power.

He had known that Genkai's shrine grounds weren't that of the holy powers legend told of, and she had briefly remarked about the real holy powers and all that they were frightening and awe inspiring in their reality, if you ever got to experience it and live to tell of it- she had been speaking about one of her friends who had experienced it, herself never being in actual contact with someone of even the diluted lines…

The scroll was opened cautiously, as it was already crumbling to dust on some edges as it sat in his hand undisturbed. He looked for confirmation from the elderly woman who owned this scroll and the piles upon the shelves, but she only nodded her acceptance and exited the study. She left, leaving him to deal with his questions alone.

He supposed it was for his own good, to find his own answers meant that he knew them and believed in them. So he sighed and started in on the scroll, briefly having to hold in a breath to avoid the sneeze all the dust was enticing from his lungs.

But he read it unhindered by the urge, and only had to pause briefly in wonder as a particular sentence caught his eye- surely that couldn't be right? …`The true shrines of this age all have one thing in common, the holy people who study and tend their lives in these places all pool some of their excess power unknowingly in the holy ground at their feet.

It was not something that was painful or even a conscious move, but rather - as one miko tried to explain to me and I feel that I can finally comprehend, now that I have experienced it for myself - that the excess power that one uses never really dissipates but is absorbed into the land and aids the natural aura and in turn helps those who reside- a bountiful harvest, the instinctual warning one will get from the lands itself, maybe even a passive protector of the power builds long enough and is constant.

But then that miko told me of something even more difficult to believe.

The land would take on the personality it accepted from those who passed through and contributed to the holy powers, becoming in a sense a sentient being. I have a little trouble believing this myself, but the miko met disbelief and scathing comments from most of her comrades as well as her enemies and jealous fellow miko- few though that line is becoming to be.'

There was a pause in the writing, a water stain with faded ink around its edges telling of the time and hardship the scroll Kuwabara held had gone through. He had never thought that the holy people ever had been doubted or scoffed at- always being depicted as serene accepting creatures of light and purity. He guessed that was the way it went, as demons were always considered the foul beings of night and death though like everything else there were mediums. Good, bad, moral, unjust…present in every race.

Now Kuwabara unrolled the scroll enough to find the writing continuing its path, but he couldn't help the sigh that escaped him at the seemingly irrelevant information- and decided to read it anyways.

`The miko left now, her teachings and ways still following their own path and attracting followers and enemies and scoffers- but I find that I don't really worry about those people. It might seem strange for a devout monk to not worry about those heathens and infidels who are lost from the path divined by the gods- but any who scoff at my miko are truly unworthy of this redemption, and I am not ashamed to admit I look forward to watching the second coming- from the heavens if I so be there. There will be violence and opposition, but she will overcome. Enemies will succumb and scoffers will fall mute; my miko…our miko…The Miko will enthuse her very essence, the true nature of her teachings, in her words and change the world as she speaks of it.

Her revolution will not be ignored.

And I find myself strangely vindictive to those who would oppose her teachings, for I know that she really and truly believes her words with every fiber of her being. And it makes me believe as well.'

The scroll was signed by Miroku the Wanderer, the steady hand of the kanji giving him the feel that this man truly knew the original miko…but it brought up so many more questions.

Was this one a reincarnation? She knew so much it seemed, maybe her coma had been where her past self had needed to inform her of the power she needed to manipulate and discover? The information and ways that she taught and would need to advocate again must have needed to be passed along. But then he had found this theory plausible, even if he was afraid to voice it to his comrades.

And so he didn't.

He was Kuwabara, the muscle of the group; they would, if only at first, doubt his theory, and right now they needed to work together. Their boss was somehow opposed to their being in contact with the Higurashi clan, and Kuwabara found even with his previous misgivings he wanted to learn of their ways. If only they didn't have to disturb the family so. And here they were at the exact bidding of their boss to gather the Higurashi problem and bring her in for questioning, forcing her into their territory where she would hopefully be put off guard and intimidated into answering their questions. Kuwabara found something intrinsically wrong about this…something in his soul was crying out against this force and manipulation- something telling him that he would be at peace on this land, and that something here would help him any way it could.

So he never voiced his knowledge of the whereabouts of the two siblings- not even when the jiichan and mother gave them honestly clueless looks about the duos whereabouts. He knew they wouldn't know, just as he didn't really know. He only had a vague idea, and when Hiei gave him a daring look that said he `knew' as well but kept his mouth shut out of some form of respect and gave Kuwabara a nod of acknowledgment the tall red head couldn't help the faint blush of understanding and embarrassment. This, he wasn't doing it to get respect. This was for the siblings.

So he gave a cursory bow of departing salutation to the family as they left, and a brief nod of respect to the much older grounds of the forest as they passed on their way out. The siblings had obviously disappeared to figure something out privately between the two of them- and he found he could respect that.

…

They entered the building Koenma held office in, the tall figure of a well cut businessman towering over them as they passed in the halls, and Kuwabara slightly turned as his senses told him something was off about the man, only Kurama smirked and they continued- no one else noticing or paying attention to what had piqued his interest.

They entered the hall of their `boss', and had to look briefly around before they heard his muffled mutterings behind a large stack of paper and official documents that they really had no interest in. They sighed as one it seemed, and strode in some scattered formation to the door that would lead them to the inevitable sound of mutterings and paper and whining.

He caught vague phrases, and Kuwabara figured that Koenma would rather not be here as well. Then he brushed by that bodyguard standing by the entrance to their boss's office, and Kuwabara shivered slightly at the image of predatory gold eyes that were behind the shaded glasses, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong as easily as he had noticed those two in the halls.

Yusuke ignored the man though, and he pushed the door open violently to enter the usually cluttered and still somehow empty office. It was just so today, but Kuwabara caught the other aura in there just as Yusuke opened his mouth and entered. “We couldn't find her and…who the fuck is that?”

The golden eyes of the demon who was seated before Koenma flashed, a strangely satisfied and predatory look that sent shivers up Kuwabara's spine, before he stood and nodded his head and just, simply, left. Koenma sighed as he spotted their faces- confused and a little irked that the demon could so easily dismiss all of them so simply. “Don't bother getting irate, Sesshoumaru is like that.”

Kurama stepped forward, Kuwabara watching him as he glanced out the hall and followed his gaze to spot the bodyguard and the businessmen trailing after the demon they had just encountered. “That is the lord Sesshoumaru? What business did he have with you?”

Koenma rubbed a hand down his face, briefly scrubbing at his weary eyes before he muttered out. “He needed passage to the ningenkai, having some business to take care of with his associate.”

Kuwabara nodded as Kurama took in this information- though he had to wonder who in the human world could associate with the lord. He was intimidating to the nines.

.x.X.x.

…

Sesshoumaru took in a deep breath of air once he felt himself walk under the barrier that felt purely of Kagome, and he was pleased to note that her scent and power had permeated the lands she protected and tended. There was something about her scent on the air, the faint spice and soothing floral with the crispness of rainfall that denoted her power that just added to the overall pureness of this area.

Sesshoumaru had always enjoyed her scent after they had become allies, and now that he could feel it so ingrained in one area it was like walking into the past; where demons and humans and hanyou and spirit had one chance they threw away.

The large swept steps up to the actual shrine grounds seemed daunting to the lord, but he recalled watching the miko walk for hours upon hours with only a meager breakfast to fuel her…and the driving desire to prove her worth and her ways. He could only smirk slightly as he pictured her making her way happily up theses stairs…but then his eyes softened and he wondered if it weren't so happy a trip up the stairs for her. After all, she would walk up these concrete paths alone.

No more…

He shook his head, silver hair brushing along the dark blue of his suit jacket as he started up. He could still picture his friend, but now her eyes were lit with that wisdom she had gained in her travels, started far before she had even met him or his brother…a far time before that. And he breathed in the air and again noted the pure scent- a blatant testament to her power over theses lands- the power that had been in her family for generations.

The faint trace of sentient awareness that flowed over his body startled him at first, but he let out a bark of laughter when it seemed to recognize him and moved about swiftly and jarringly in joy. It would seem that Kagome had been right about the barriers the holy people set in place, Sesshoumaru having a hard time admitting that he had been wrong to doubt the miko so long ago. His head shook again, and he was still chuckling to himself when he mounted the top steps, coming directly in view of a smiling miko.

Her smile grew wider when his eyebrows rose and then one lowered. “I knew you'd come.” She giggled, and Sesshoumaru wished his skin wasn't so pale so that his sheepish blush was hidden better- but ah, that was Kagome for you. Gods, he hated being predictable. He schooled his features again, looking the miko once over and deciding that she definitely came from this time- although he had rather fond memories of a daring and fiery miko with strange clothes and even stranger ideas coming to visit his time…. The softer cloth of this time seemed so much more suited for her than the harsh weaves of her miko outfit in the past, and he found that he rather liked her in colors other than the damming red and white that she had hated so.

An old man approached, wary and suspicious and alarmingly reaching into his haori with the crinkling of paper that told Sesshoumaru of wards- and with the sizzle of energy that told Sesshoumaru of power. His scent was of the earth after a summer storming rain, and Sesshoumaru sighed and straightened up as he eyed the man, related to his miko. “The healer Higurashi, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.” The old man was stunned into stillness as the demon slightly bowed his head in acknowledgement and Sesshoumaru took the opportunity to whisk the miko further onto the grounds, feeling the very earth react to her amusement and the barrier waver worriedly about in amused chariness.

The miko herself sported the physcial smile that seemed to personify the barriers emotions, and Sesshoumaru sighed before taking a deep breath. Coconut…the smell was entwined with hers just as the scent of her power was, and Sesshoumaru smirked as he caught it. It was the sign of her acceptance of his protection- a sign that whoever harmed her or pursued her death would have to answer to him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and found her observing him and smiling that soft smile with that little chuckle and that look in her eyes. “Pray tell, little miko, what you find so humorous?”

The smile changed to that one, her eyes shifting with a now somber light that made them seem like the deepest depths of the ocean with only the faint light of her honesty to guide his way. There was no chuckle. “I have missed you- despite it being naught a full moon for me.”

And Sesshoumaru softened. He had known that she was always close to the people she met, surprising him when they encountered old foes and even defeated enemies who looked up to the miko in respect and friendship and soon followed her path- drawn by her light and the promise it held. But he had also found that the miko was alone; her power and ways were renown for the simple fact that she left none bereft of her love and grin, but there was always the simple smile that would light her face at sunset, when all who yearned for her to light their path had left her and she had no one else to look out for or turn to. She had always been deserted at the end of the day. And even as he had watched her friends join her, as he had joined her, a part of the traveling companions she had embraced for so many years, she had looked alone.

And she had smiled alone.

He sighed and was about to speak but then her brother - so obviously her brother by blood unlike Sesshoumaru who could only claim that bond in spirit and the shared thrill of battle - came out with a suspicious but not unwelcoming look. He never understood how Kagome had accomplished that face, and here he was looking at a child who must have learned it from her. There was no other way Sesshoumaru could have felt that it was the miko - younger and happier than he had ever seen her - staring out at him from that face…except for those eyes. They were eyes not as wise as her bluer orbs, and he found he could smile.

This was why she lived.

He bowed his head slightly in deference, and he found himself again surprised; but now by the deference the boy showed in return, easily recalling days where he had to work hard to earn respect - but not friendship - from the very miko he now stood beside. He shook his head at the simplicity of it all.

Give and receive it…

“I take it that you are the Souta? You are the one of whom Kagome spoke during her journey.” The boy flushed, as if unsure whether the tall imposing man in front of him meant that as a compliment or a curse. But still the boy shifted closer to his sister, belying his true thoughts and feelings. He would feel guilty for taking her attention away from something important, but he wouldn't feel guilty for having her attention on him.

Sesshoumaru nodded as he observed this in silence, noting the unconscious way in which Kagome shifted to draw her sibling in closer to her. And he couldn't help but smile at the bond so obviously there, he could see it. Whether it was from the way they physically drew closer to one another for comfort and reassurance, or maybe it was the way the younger so mimicked his older sibling…or maybe it was the way that he could see in their eyes the same gift of welcome…he could just see it.

“This is Higurashi Souta, younger brother and sometimes holy terror of my days.” The boy flushed deeply, but the strange manic and sheepish grin that spread across his face endeared the lord to the boy no less. He reminded him so much of the younger more mischievous Kagome that he couldn't help but let his eyes light with amusement as he gave a look to the miko. It would seem that all the stunts she had pulled had not entirely been from the influence of the monk and the kit.

She grinned up at him as well, almost a perfect mirror of her brother and Sesshoumaru turned to hide the smile, taking in the lands that echoed of the sibling's presence and regarded him with a wary welcome- something he was sure it had absorbed from the siblings. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to inhale the scent of his company and the land, and found himself oddly pleased - once again - of his mark on the female.

He had been one to recognize her might; he had been one to help her on her paths; he had been one to protect her from dangers she knew not about at the time; and he had been one whom she had accepted into her pack and one whom would help her in her revolution. He paused and just watched her, the silence comforting in all its heavy ambiguity and the faint sounds of life on this shrine penetrating the perfect little world these two seemed to exude. And it made it all the more perfectly real.

Memories hadn't softened with time for the demon lord, but time had painted them in a far more favorable light as he relived the glorious moments of the Heiwa no Miko, being in her scent just seemed to add a reassuring light of reality to it all. She was here.

He took in a deep breath, and then his perusal of their grounds alighted on the female that Yukio was courting and her determined path towards them.

.x.

.x.X.x.