What the Darkness Brings

PART I: The Consequence of Recovery
Chapter 12: Gone Batty

Kagome glared at the fire from where she sat against a tree, trying very much to transfer all her anger into the blaze.

She wasn’t really sure what was happening. Something had gone wrong within the years she had been living to make her life such a mess. There were only two theories she could come up with that fit the ‘wrongness’ idea. Either she was insane, or everyone else was. Either way, it was she who was going to be considered mad.

And now she was ranting so badly that she didn’t even know what she was ranting about.

Kagome fought from groaning into her hands, knowing she’d done it too much in the past few days. The others were already worried for her health (both mentally and physically) and Nezumi was requesting they turn back. What’s worse, Inu-Yasha was beginning to agree with him! She could swear the hanyou was actually searching for signs she was going nuts. Well, damnit, if she was going insane it was all their faults! Every time she turned around she caught one of them staring at her speculatively, searchingly. They were just waiting for her to crack under the pressure. A pressure that shouldn’t have been there in the first place too! If they would just leave her alone then she would be perfectly fine!

And her looming insanity was the damn Shikon no Tama’s fault too!

“You are very tense, Kagome-san.”

Her care-takers voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned her head to face the mouse, a wry glare gracing her features. “I wonder why…”

He blinked, “Is your wound hurting you? Such travel isn’t so good for you so soon, I think we really should head-“

Kagome sighed and sat up, rubbing her face tiredly, “It’s not the actual traveling that’s wearing on me, Nezumi. All of you are being a huge pain in my hind-end. I don’t need to go to the village! My back is fine!”

There was a bit of a pause. “Forgive us, my lady, for worrying about you. However, spine injuries are very serious, you must admit.” His tone was scolding, yet at the same time held his apology properly. She barely refrained from glaring at him again.

Instead she gathered up her cane and bathing supplies, set on a good bath with Sango. Nezumi couldn’t complain about that. The heat would be wonderful for her and Sango would be enough company to keep him happy. But when she looked over to the woman she found her heavily engaged in flirting with a certain monk. Kagome smiled wistfully and turned to her second choice. “Kirara? Would you keep me company while I bathe?”

The little creature looked up for a moment, blinking slowly as if contemplating her options. She yawned widely and looked to her mistress, seemingly rolling her eyes at what she saw. Finally, the cat rose, stretched in the way only a feline could and nodded her assent. With a mighty, yet effortless leap Kirara was upon her shoulder ready to go. Kagome smiled to herself before turning to Nezumi, “Kirara and I will be going to the hot springs nearby. Unless I call or you think there’s been some trouble, don’t come to get me.”

The rat sighed wearily, but nodded and turned to do some mundane task. Kagome’s smile widened as she turned to get to the hot springs they’d passed not long before they’d set up camp. It seemed that maybe things were going to go her way tonight. She wouldn’t have anyone complain in her ear about her health. For a change.

:: Do not think such so soon, our dear. :: The voice resounding in her head nearly made her stumble. The Shikon hadn’t spoken to her in very nearly a week, not since the incident with Kikyou. The damn thing was getting to be just like a hormonal woman: talking to her one minute then maintaining utter silence for another. It was worst than she was on a bad day.

‘Why can’t you just leave me alone?’ She groaned in her own mind. ‘All of you are confusing me.’

:: But we love our girl. We must make sure she grows up big and strong. ::

She didn’t miss the sarcasm in the voices, nor the stifled giggles of the voices not speaking.

Kagome gave a large sigh, catching Kirara’s attention. She gave the mononoke a sheepish smile, which turned blissful when she heard the slight noise indicating the spring. Setting a pace quicker than she should in her eagerness, she hurried to the site. Finding it lazily steaming and larger than she had expected, Kagome sighed blissfully and dropped her belongings on the ground.

Kirara jumped down and chose a warmed rock on the edge of the pool, curling up in a more comfortable position. Her ears swiveled on the top of her head to seek out any unwanted intruders or attackers. When finished with her inspection, she nodded to the miko and rested her head. Happily Kagome pulled off her clothes, folding them neatly and placing them into a pile for later cleaning, she stepped into the deceptively deep spring, moaning with delight at the comforting heat.

:: Such a silly girl. ::

Dutifully she ignored the teasing voices, leaning against a convenient rock to begin her soak. She took a deep calming breath, ready to begin a meditation that would soothe her through and through. She had to relax her mind first in order to relax her body. She planned to have a full hour in the spring before she headed back to the others.

:: So dependant on others when you can sense aura’s yourself. ::

Her eyebrow twitched in irritation, but again she studiously ignored the voices. They wouldn’t annoy her if she wouldn’t let them. And the only way she could prevent them was to completely ignore them. Even if what they were saying seemed a bit interesting… But no! She was going to ignore them until after she figured what the hell they wanted from her. They were from the Shikon no Tama… They WERE the Shikon Jewel.

:: We want nothing but our girls happiness. ::

Ignoring them was key. She had to ignore them or else her meditation was going to be completely ruined for the day and she hadn’t meditated since they had left the village. Her nerves were completely shot right now, she had to do this.

:: You must learn to defend and protect yourself. ::

She just had to empty her mind. Keep everything blank and spotless. Just like the kitchen in the future when her mother just got done cleaning it. All shiny and sparkly.

:: You would not have been so injured if you could take care of yourself. ::

Her eyes snapped open. “Alright that’s it!”

Kirara looked up in surprise, her nose twitching as she tried to find out what her current charge had exclaimed over. But Kagome ignored the mononoke in favor of yelling at the voices within.

‘How the hell do you know what would have happened if I had been able to sense him?!’

:: We know our girl. Our girl is strong. ::

She gritted her teeth, glaring off into the distance as she tried not to lose anymore of her patience. ‘Why should I listen to you?’

:: We love our girl. Only want what is best for our girl. We can teach. ::

‘I don’t think you can teach me anything that isn’t tainted by evil.’

:: Close your eyes and FEEL. Just feel what is there. :: The voices seemed to be aggravated with her.

Pursing her lips, Kagome closed her eyes. Feel. It wanted her to ‘just feel.’ Feel what? The rock under her butt? The water lapping at her skin? The wind against her face? She felt those, even when she wasn’t trying to sense them. But… she had always sensed the Shikon no Tama. It had taken her energies to begin the process of integrating it bank into her body.

So what if she used her powers for this too?

She searched out the place that held her powers and coaxed them out and into the open. Taking deep calming breath, she extended it far around her. And she felt.

It was amazing. She knew where everything was, what everything was. A smile touched her lips, there was a butterfly not three feet away from them. It was cuter in spirit than it was form. On the other side of them were a few hundred little creeping spiders – which she could have gone without knowing – gathering for some reason or another. And she could sense Kirara so much more clearly, better than any other attempt she’d made previously.

And she could sense the demon cat’s sudden rage.

Eyes snapping open and energy retracting back into her body, Kagome swirled around to face the cat, wondering what was wrong. Her heart nearly stopped when she realized the cat was beginning to hiss and spit at HER.

“Kirara?”

The mononoke growled low in her throat, her fur standing on end as she crouched low to attack. A sudden flame around the creature had Kagome jumping back in fear, her eyes widening when she realized the cat had transformed into her battle form.

“K-Kirara, what’s wrong? What are you –“

She screamed as the cat lunged at her, ducking into the water to try to escape her. Kirara sailed over her, but quickly turned and prepared to attack again. Kagome searched frantically for a place to go, knowing the cat wouldn’t let water stop her for too long. She may have been a cat, but there was a reason Kirara was so good at killing enemies. Which was what she thought Kagome was…

A menacing scraping against stone had Kagome whirling back to her friend only to be greeted by the cats claws. With a screech, she threw herself to the side, and instead of the sharp claws catching her throat, they merely dug along her collar bone and bicep. She bit back her cry of pain, keeping an eye on the enraged demon. At the scent of her blood, Kirara crouched down low, preparing herself.

An acid green line suddenly shot out and caught her attacker around the middle. Kirara roared loudly in protest, and Kagome could smell burning fur. The line whipped the cat away from the edge of the pool and slammed her into a large tree. The green disappeared as she dropped down to the ground limp.

Instantly, Kagome forgot her concerns for herself and lurched up out of the water, “Kirara!”

“Enough, woman, she will be fine. She is merely unconscious.” The familiar, cool voice had her seeking out the form and almost instantly, most of her worries left her.

“Sesshou-Maru, what are you doing here?” She couldn’t think of another time where she’d felt so relieved to see the demon lord.

He raised an eyebrow, “I acquired two shards of the Shikon Jewel. I had come to deliver them to your group when I scented your blood.”

She blushed brightly and nodded. “Well, thank you very much. You have wonderful timing, Sesshou-Maru. I owe you my life tenfold.”

“Hn.” He bent down and pulled the vial of shards she had in her backpack. Pulling the cork from it, he added the two rather small shards he’d produced from his haori.

She couldn’t help but ask: “Um… did you get those from a dead guy too?”

“No. These I received from one you may know as a friend.”

Kagome frowned in confusion as the demonic lord turned and looked into the forest. There was a bit of shuffling before a figure dressed in white and violet stepped out into the open. Kagome blinked in surprise, “Shiori?!”

It was the little bat hanyou. Only she looked to have had quite the growth spurt since they’d last seen her. Instead of the sweet child’s face and form, the hanyou seemed to have grown up into a lovely teen-aged girl.

A shy blush stained the girls cheeks, “Kagome-sama. It is good to see you… but um… you are not very… decent.”

Realization suddenly washed over Kagome, and she felt her entire body heat up with a blush. She was completely naked… in front of Sesshou-Maru… and he had his eyes open…But before she could duck down back into the water, Sesshou-Maru caught her. Without a word he wrapped her fluffy towel about her and gently pushed her down to sit on the springs edge.

“We must clean and treat your wound, miko. It may not hurt now, but you still have adrenaline in you after this attack.”

Kagome nodded lamely, watching as her on and off caretaker pulled items out of his sleeves and began to treat her wound. She nearly sighed in agitation. It seemed that all Sesshou-Maru did when he was around her lately, was to take care of her. Why couldn’t she just keep herself out of harms way when he came around to ‘check up’ on her. And at that she nearly rolled her eyes. Keep herself out of harms way with Sesshou-Maru? He was harm itself.

“What made you decide to extend your aura, miko?”

Dumbly, she looked up, “Huh?”

Sesshou-Maru glanced at her face for a moment before reaching for something that looked suspiciously looked like a needle and thread. Kagome’s stomach turned a bit. “I asked you why you felt the need to extend your aura.”

“Oh…” She blushed again, “Um… I just wanted to see if I could sense things with my energy.”

His single hand reached up and gently moved her head to look away before he began to sew up her skin. “You need to be better trained before you attempt such a level of tracking. If you had extended yourself wrongly, you might not have been able to bring yourself back into your body.”

Her blood ran from her face, and she turned wide eyes to him, “What?”

He only spared her a glance, reaching up again to turn her head away. “I did not stutter.”

Frustration ran through her, “Well I have to learn somehow damnit!”

“Agreed.”

She fiddled with her fingers, ignoring the slight pull in her flesh as Sesshou-Maru sewed. “Is that why Kirara attacked me? Is that the same reason you went all beasty on me that one time?”

There was a sound of amusement from both Shiori and Sesshou-Maru, “Yes it is. I have told you before, miko, you are powerful, whether you are trained or not you are aware of it. And as you know, priestesses are the natural enemies of demons. Kirara was unable to withstand such a barrage of holy energy. Her instincts overtook her.”

“What about you and Shiori?”

“She is only a half-demon, her human side nullifies most demonic instincts. And I have enough rationality and strength to suppress those basic instincts to kill.” He suddenly stilled his nose twitching ever so slightly, after a second he began to bandage her up. “Prepare yourself, little brother comes. He has smelled your blood.”

Kagome heaved a sigh and raised a hand to help him wrap the cloth about her body. She held the piece to her shoulder while he leaned into her and brought the piece forward from behind her. She blushed slightly at his nearness, still unable to get used to him, especially while she was practically naked. And she couldn’t help but notice…he smelled wonderful…

“KAGOME!”

She jumped slightly, her attention ripped away from her current continual savior to her usual continual savior. She blanched when she saw him brandishing Tetsuseiga like his usual idiotic self. She rolled her eyes before she noticed Sesshou-Maru staring at her. She tied the two ends of the bandage together. “Inu-Yasha, calm down please.”

The hanyou stopped in his tracks casting a confused look to her before eying the downed Kirara and nervously hovering bat hanyou. “What the hell is going on here?!”

Kagome sighed, “It’s a long story, and I’ve been really rude to Shiori too.” She turned to the said girl, “I haven’t asked how you’ve been or anything! My mother would be ashamed of me.”

Shiori blushed brightly, “Oh, it’s alright, Kagome-sama.”

“Lie on your stomach.”

Her breath caught in her throat at the demand and she turned in shock to Sesshou-Maru. “I… w-what?”

There was amusement in his eyes, and she could almost swear he chose that wording just to see her blush. “I intend to see how well your spine is healing, so lie on your stomach.”

Rather belatedly, she felt her entire body heat up in a blush, but she didn’t complain. She just twisted about and did as he asked, careful not to stress her new wound. He pulled the towel down ‘til it only covered her bottom and gently ran his fingers over her spine. Smiling up at the pale girl, she patted the ground before her, her smile broadening when the half-demoness complied.

“How have you been doing? You’ve grown so much since we’ve last seen you.”

Shiori nodded, “I’ve been well, thank you Kagome-sama. And yes, I have grown very quickly. Mother had said I would sometime soon. I did just after I left home.”

“Oh, you left home?”

Sadness entered her eyes, “Yes. Mother died of the brain fever, just about three moons ago. I have been searching all of you out since then since I had two Shikon shards.”

“How the hell did you get two shards?”

Kagome glared at Inu-Yasha, who was checking over Kirara. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Shiori-chan.”

A tentative smile spread across her face, “I’m alright now, Kagome-sama. I’m stronger for it. And as for the shards… I, um… kind of took them from two youkai who had killed each other over them.”

A laugh erupted from her throat, “That’s the best way to get them I guess.” A rather firm pressure against her spine had her flinching. She turned a quick glare to her doctor who merely raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, Kagome-san… If I may inquire… why is Sesshou-Maru-sama, um, taking care of you?”

Sesshou-maru answered for her, “The miko was incompetent and got herself injured. I have provided her with the care she needs to heal as much as she is able.”

Kagome turned and blew him raspberries. She heard his sigh and felt his claws on her tongue. Wow. This seemed to be very familiar. Weren’t they in a similar situation not too long ago?

“This Sesshou-Maru noticed that you have some sort of metal through your ears. Would you like one through your tongue?”

She knew he meant it as a threat, but instead of frightening her, it amused her. After all, there were thousands of people who had tongue piercings in the future. What he thought would sound painful and disgusting to her actually sounded like something her friends would do on a dare. Eri did it already if she wasn’t mistaken. She couldn’t help but smirk. Which caught her would-be tormentor off guard. Raising an eyebrow, he let go of her tongue to let her speak.

“I was considering getting a tongue ring a while ago.”

He blinked in surprise, not expecting her answer. “This Sesshou-Maru was unaware you were so masochistic. I will remember such in future encounters.”

“I’m not masochistic it’s just really popular where I come from.”

He continued with his exam, touching warm fingers between her shoulder blades. “Strange, barbaric fashion your people have.”

Kagome just shook her head and turned her attention back to Shiori. “So, where have you been? What places have you seen? What people did you meet?”

“Oh!” She shook her head slightly, “I almost forgot, too! About two weeks ago, I was in the Eastern Lands following rumors of your travels. Just by a small village was a very strange palace with a strong, dark barrier around it. I would have thought nothing of it, but I remembered your stories.”

Inu-Yasha was suddenly in her line of sight, holding a tiny, still unconscious Kirara in his arm. “Dark barrier?”

“Y-yes. I have quite an extensive knowledge of barriers.” At that Inu-Yasha gave and amused sound, dropping down gracelessly to the grass, “This one… this barrier held a lot of dark energy, and it’s weaving was very strange.”

“Weaving?” This question was presented by an interested Sesshou-Maru.

Shiori blushed darkly, “A barrier is created in two ways: weavings of several energies or a single, thicker layer of energy.”

“Hn. You will tell this Sesshou-Maru more of your knowledge on barriers when the time presents itself.”

“Y-yes, Sesshou-Maru-sama.” She paused a bit, as if trying to remember where she had left off, “The weaving of this barrier I was met with, it was like several hundred demons had woven each strand instead of a single being. I was shocked, of course. The weave is too intricate for two beings to accomplish together. But then… I thought of your stories of Naraku. So I decided to pick a hole in the barrier-“

“You can do that?”

Shiori smiled at Kagome’s shocked questions, “I am a master of barriers, Kagome-sama. It is very easy for me.”

Kagome studied the young girl, wondering how such a delicate young thing – which she knew it was a ‘pot calling the kettle black’ sort of situation – was able to master such an interesting field of study. Then again, the bat youkai clan Shiori came from had the whole barrier thing down. But didn’t her powers come from the orb Inu-Yasha destroyed? Or was it something more interesting? “Okay. I’m sorry I interrupted… go ahead.”

“When I went inside of the barrier and got nearer to the castle, I heard a male and female very clearly. They… well she was arguing with him about something concerning a rare plant. And when I heard the name Naraku, I instantly turned back and left. I didn’t want to be caught there and brought into his services.” She gestured to the stoic lord who had motioned to Kagome that he had completed his exam. “Lord Sesshou-Maru found me not soon after.”

After expertly pulling on her clothes without showing any skin – thanks to changing in gym lockers – Kagome looked to Inu-Yasha. “Looks like we have a clue now.”

AAAAAA

AN: I know, I know… you haven’t heard from me in some time…but… Yeah I’m not going to give excuses… I regretfully inform you though, that you may not see much of me ‘til May. I’m in school again and I have ten (count them… TEN) papers due in just one class. (Adding the others together from other classes it becomes 14). I apologize and I will get the other chapters out to you as soon as I’m not going mentally insane from school. Good news is no school Monday! YAYAYAYAYAY!

On another note I have noticed that people have ignored my request about the one liner reviews… So I’m just going to shut up about it and appreciate the people who actually give me feedback. Loves to you!

Please Regard Me Kindly,
I Agree