Only Your Smile

A/N: Sorry for the hellish long delay. I just couldn’t find it in me to get around to new ideas for chapters and that aff.net was down for quite a bit…but now that it’s back, I’ve gotten my spark back. Hope you all like what I’ve come up with. *hugs to all*

PS: I’ve modded chapter one. It will make more sense in this one.

Only Your Smile
Chapter 2: This Is the Story of a Girl


Kagome glanced to everyone as they exited the portal Botan had created, finally taking the different people in. Fighting for her life wasn’t the time to actually look over who was around her, minus the koorime, Yukina. Her eyes drifted to a boy that looked to be about her age, with dark, slicked back hair, and piercing eyes. His demeanor screamed “bad boy” at her, and she noticed the soft appearance of his face, that sharply contrasted with that of the person that stood beside him, with flaming orange hair, and although his eyes were somewhat darkened, they also held hidden compassion that she could see without much effort.

Her eyes floated over to a slightly taller individual with scarlet red hair, and emerald green eyes that seemed full of secrets and even a hint of sorrow that she hadn’t seen in a long time; since that of her best friend and basically, sister, Sango. He was truly a bishonen, and she kept her eyes on him a few moments longer, appreciating his beauty, hell, she was a woman first, and he was one fine human…but at that she studied him a little further. What she felt was confusing, a demon aura, a distinctly kitsune one, laced with the human aura. A definite mystery for later, if she should ever meet any of these people again, that is.

Dragging her eyes away slowly, they fell on a shorter figure; dressed all in black, save for white bandages on his arm, and a white scarf hanging loosely around his neck. She couldn’t help but blink slowly as she took him in, her miko energies reacting strongly to him, moving towards him for some unknown reason. Mentally pulling it back, she felt his aura scream to her, pain and betrayal laced within it, as well as the undeniable clash of forces within it…fire…and ice. She glanced to Yukina briefly, who was standing beside him, and could feel that the aura from them both was the same, they truly were siblings.

Suddenly, he turned to look at her, his eyes locking on her sapphire ones. She had to force herself not to gasp at the crimson red irises, seeing emotion after emotion race through them, but to the untrained eye it would show nothing but a glare of defiance. She was the first to blink, breaking the contact, and in a flash, he was gone from sight, and she frowned, looking to Yukina for an explanation, who only shrugged lightly, as if this was an everyday occurrence, however, Hiei was a little confused, and a lot pissed off. When he had looked into her eyes, he saw curiosity and confusion, but no fear…she didn’t fear him like others had upon first meeting; she was considering him quietly, and that irked him; he couldn’t kill her, not without the Reikai brat and all of Reikai imprisoning him, but her scent, now freely reaching him, was pure, so pure it had him almost growling at it. Sakura petals and fresh rain was imprinted to his memory, even if he didn’t have an inu’s nose, he could almost taste the purity within her scent. She was alluring, and no human he had ever met before had even made him turn a head. She somehow, did.

“Don’t mind him, he’s always got a stick up his ass…” a brash voice drew forth her attention, and she glanced to the one in an all green uniform.

“Yusuke, well that’s not nice…” the girl dressed in a pink kimono called out, chiding him lightly.

“Watch your mouth in front of my sweet!” another harsher voice shouted out next, earning a soft glare from Yusuke.

“Want to make something of it, Kuwabara?” he replied as a soft smirk came to the boys face, making Kagome move back lightly, confused. Weren’t these guys supposed to be friends?

Yukina sighed softly and moved over beside Kagome. “They are always fighting with one another…it is how they show their affection, I think…” she explained softly, as the crimson haired boy walked on her other side, watching them now wrestle. Kagome could tell it was playfully done, and held in a soft smile. It reminded her of Shippou and Inuyasha on occasion.

“Boys, please!” the kimono girl called out, looking to them. “Koenma needs to speak with you all, will you knock it off?” They continued to scuffle a few moments more before standing upright, dusting themselves off and looking to her, before nodding.

“Alright, alright. Keep your pants on, Botan…sheesh…” Yusuke replied, smirking to her, before glancing to Yukina and then Kurama, before finally settling his eyes on Kagome.

“And I don’t think I got your name…” he said, confusion coming to his eyes a little bit. She was in the Makai…but she wasn’t a demon, he could tell that for sure, but there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary about her, really, except his demon side could definitely pick up her scent, and the purity lacing it was intoxicating, but he pushed it away, but only barely. Keiko would skin him alive for looking at another woman.

“It’s Kagome…” she looked at him equally, feeling the demon within him as well…perhaps a hanyou?

“If it were different circumstances, I would say nice to meet you, but rescuing you from the Makai isn’t a way to meet someone…especially a human girl…” he replied a little hotheadedly, his temper flaring lightly.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “Like I said before, I didn’t plan on going to the Makai, or whatever it is…it just happened. Now I’m grateful for your help, but you don’t have to take that tone with me!” she replies just as heatedly, her energy coming to light just a little, as it had come to life before…

That gets everyone’s attention, even Hiei’s, who was currently just resting in a nearby tree, watching over his sister still. They had seen her arrows and slight use of her energy, and had dismissed it at the time, just working on getting out of the enemy stronghold, but now that they were back in the Ningenkai, they had a moment to look her over, and definitely got the attention of the fire apparition and kitsune avatar, whom both knew miko energy when they saw it. Yusuke had heard of the purifying power of miko’s, as learned from Genkai, but Kuwabara was a bit clueless when it came to her strange energy signature. Yukina was the only one unphased by her slight show of power.

Kurama stepped up lightly, trying to dissolve this potential situation, bowing lightly. “My name is Kurama…please, there is no need for hostility…” his worried eyes glanced over Kagome and then Yusuke, while Youko was strangely silent with interest, at the girls scent and also her small display of power.

The young miko paused at his strangely sad and now worried eyes, taking a breath to calm herself and dispelling the power around her. “I’m sorry…” she said softly, looking away. His temper reminded her of Inuyasha, and she felt the need to stand up for herself, as she did with the hanyou, though she would have just ‘sat’ him by now.

“Yusuke?” the avatar glanced to the spirit detective, expecting an apology as well, only to receive a small scoff and shake of his head, not one to apologize. Kagome let it go, as it was also something she had come to expect from Inuyasha, and she wouldn’t push it with this new person that she just met. Forcing back a growl, she turned and swiftly moved towards the city. “Catch you later, Yukina…” she said over her shoulder, her eyes meeting with the kitsune’s as well as the fire apparitions, glancing over him lightly. None of them stopped her, but she definitely had their attentions.

“Uhm…Lord Koenma…he want’s to…” Botan started, but was interrupted by a harsh voice. “I know, Botan, sheesh! Let’s go already…” Yusuke said, looking to her to open a portal. She went to retort, but instead just sighed, opening a portal for them, in which Hiei finally came down to go through, knowing the ferry girl would make sure his sister made it back to the shrine safely.

~*~

With a light sigh, Kagome began the climb up the Higurashi shrine steps, feeling exhausted. It had been over three years since she used any amount of energy like she had just used, and it was taxing, because she was also protecting the Shikon within her. She couldn’t let demons of this era learn that she had it, or she, and her family, would be in as much danger as she was in the past. Completing the jewel had come with a price, there was always a price to being near the jewel. Losing Inuyasha had been hardest on Kagome but she had since to come to terms with losing him. It was hard to get over her first heartbreak, and with time, she did. The well didn’t completely seal as she thought it would, and even after the battle, she went back every so often, checking up on her friends, seeing how Sango and Miroku’s wedded life was, seeing their children; they were up to three now, two boys and a sweet little girl. Shippou was growing too, every time she saw him he seemed bigger to her. A little over a year ago, she had brought him back with her, but today, she had left him in her mother’s care and was going back alone, except she ended up in the Makai for some unknown reason.

He was getting good at illusions, and could easily hide his kitsune appearance. He was going to school now with Souta, getting good grades too, which made Kagome’s mother proud. The kit was just happy to have a family again.

Making it up the shrine steps, she made her way inside and upstairs. The house was quiet, and for that she was glad. She slipped off her shoes and promptly fell onto her bed, falling asleep quickly. She didn’t notice the demon sitting on the tree branch near her bedroom window, nor hear its soft voice. “I’ve located her, Koenma sama.”

~*~

Yusuke sighed for not the first time since setting foot inside the Spirit leader’s office. Hurry up and wait…he really hated it. “So what’s up, toddler?” He interjected the silence of the room. It made him more than a little uncomfortable.

“What did I tell you about calling me a toddler, Yusuke?!” he shouted back, the child like leader turning around in his chair, his customary binky in his mouth.

“Just get it over with, I could be out doing more important things than standing here!” he bit back; he didn’t really hate the toddler, but he was irritated on more than one occasion in his service of the Reikai, and it all started with Koenma.

“Patience, Yusuke. I have just received word from another of our spirit detectives that the girl in question has been located, and now I can get on with your mission.” He replied, his voice turning soft and serious.

That got everyone’s attention, as the Reikai Tantei turned their attention to the spirit ruler.

“Girl?” Yusuke said, trying not to lose his patience; mentioning a member of the opposite sex never ended well. It usually was a baby sitting mission, with the exception of Yukina, and that was a rescue mission. One gladly done, in his opinion.

“Yes, Yusuke. Her name is Higurashi Kagome, and she is in possession of a very rare, and very powerful artifact.” He replies, almost seeing the guys roll their eyes at him. How many times had they heard that before?

“Kagome?” he replied. ‘Nah…that couldn’t be her. Surely there is more than one Kagome, right?’ Yusuke questioned mentally, before glancing to Kurama, who was in a slight discussion with Youko.

‘That girl…her name was Kagome…you think it could be her?’ Kurama asked the kitsune spirit, his mind already on the strange girl. She had power, but it seemed to be limited. It wasn’t massive by any means of the word.

‘Could be, Red. She had the purest scent I had ever come in contact with…but other than that, she seemed rather ordinary. Except for the fact that she wasn’t afraid of us…but then again, she had heard of demons. Unusual indeed…’ he pondered quietly in the back of Kurama’s mind.

“This is a picture of the artifact. The Shikon no Tama. It was made of the legendary miko, Midoriko’s soul, as well as four other demons’ souls. She was battling them for many days and many nights, and found that she didn’t have the power to defeat them. So she took her soul and trapped them, purifying the evil. However, because they were demon souls, they are easily tainted by evil. That’s why it must always be in the presence of a powerful miko, one who can keep it pure. This girl…” he continued, as he changed the picture of the glittering pink sphere, to on of Kagome, “…is the current guardian of the jewel.”

Everyone looked up with surprise. It was the same girl they had just met, and she looked…different, in the picture she was in. She had a bright smile, one that reached her eyes, and she looked truly happy, as if she didn’t have a care in the world, unlike the girl they had met earlier that same afternoon.

“Hey, you guys! That’s her!” Kuwabara shouted out, breaking the silence.

Koenma looked to him with a curiously raised eyebrow. “Care to explain?”

“We met her just today…rescued her with my Yukina.” He said, his eyes turning dreamy at the ice maiden’s mention.

He looks back to the others. “She was in the Makai?!” he practically shouted out, his eyes going wide.

“Well yeah…she was in the same cell as Yukina…” the spirit detective trailed off, really confused right now. ‘What was a girl like that doing in the Makai…and knowing she had something that demons would go after?’

“That’s another reason this mission is so important…do you know what would have happened should any demon pick up on the jewel she is protecting?! Every demon in the entire Makai realm would be going after it, and specifically her, to get it!” he ranted on, his face turning more and more red by the second.

Kurama glanced sideways to Hiei, catching his eye, and again, he couldn’t help but mentally voice, ‘There was nothing special about her…power wise…how powerful could she be? And why was someone like her put as protector of such an artifact? How did she get ahold of it?’

“Kurama, are you listening?” Koenma shouted, hopping up onto his desk.

“Yes, Lord Koenma. But I must wonder, is she really so powerful?” ask a question, hopefully smooth over some ruffled feathers…
“She is the most powerful miko since Midoriko herself. The problem is that in these times, there is no one to teach her how to use it. She is a rarity. The most powerful of the miko line died out a couple of hundred years ago, but resurfaced with her. Maybe it was because she was born with the jewel, that subconsciously, her spirit knew that she would have to be powerful to protect it. But what ever the reason, she has it now, and now, she needs protection. In the past, she had her own group of humans and demons alike that had the power to help protect her. In this time, she had no one.”

At that, Hiei’s ears pricked up, as did everyone else’s. Again, mentioning of the past…

“What do you mean by “in the past”?” Yusuke asked, his temper cooled for the moment.


“In the past…she traveled to the past via the well on her shrine property. Something happened and the jewel was shattered five hundred years in the past. Together with an inu hanyou, taijya, monk, fire neko, and kitsune child, they recollected the pieces of it, and destroyed an immense evil. The well wasn’t sealed, and she has continued to travel between times. She even brought back the kit and he is living with her family now, and even attends school.” Koenma was on the ball on this case, for more reasons than one, and it all had to do with Kagome. He had watched her progress over time, and even if he wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, he knew he had feelings for the miko girl.

‘A kitsune child?!’ Youko shouted out, now becoming wildly animated in the back of Kurama’s mind. ‘And she’s taking care of him like one of her own…how mysterious! And a miko at that!’

‘Yes…she is a bit intriguing…’ Kurama replied softly, his mind turning over the information he just received.

“So basically, we’re babysitting her. Keeping her safe from demons.” Yusuke interjected yet again, his eyes flashing with his temper.

“It’s not babysitting. If that jewel falls into the wrong hands, you won’t have to worry about watching her, you’ll have to worry about a full blown demon war on your hands!” the spirit leader shouted back, anger coming to his eyes. The spirit detective paused, looking to him; he could see that his own spirit energy was barely contained, and he was ready to transform to his teenage state, and he was confused as to why.

“Fine.” He replied nonchalantly. “We’re on it.” He added with a smirk. That was Yusuke for you, yelling one minute and smirking the next. ‘Koenma is going to hit him one day, just wait and see…’ Youko laughed, finding the situation amusing between their team leader and the leader of the spirit realm.

Kurama just rolled his eyes, and glanced to Hiei. He had been quiet for most of the conversation, even mentally, though he saw attraction in the fire apparitions eyes when the picture of Kagome was shown, as well as a little curiosity about the jewel. Either way, it seemed the conversation was finished, and they were dismissed, each of them filing out through a portal that had them exiting at the Higurashi shrine.

Kurama paused, his eyes instantly going to a tree on the property, sensing the age old magic within the tree, as well as a special magic coming from a small shack next to it. It was a magic felt by both him and Hiei, as well as Kuwabara. “Man, this place gives me the hebe jibes…” he voiced, the unknown energy prickling at his senses.

The kitsune avatar glanced momentarily to Kuwabara, before his senses tingled at a signature energy…a kitsune energy…

“Yeah, and then she told me that if I keep doing good, then I’ll get to pick the place we go for our class trip!” a male child’s voice said, while another replied, “Really? That’s awesome, Shippou! I didn’t get to pick out the class trip…Kakashi did…” he says with distain. “He’s a real jerk. But he’s not in my class anymore.”

The four turned as two children came up the steps, one taller, brown haired boy, and another lighter haired child…except Kurama could see through his spells and saw the kitsune tail. Shippou froze as he sensed all the demons in front of him. First and formost was a clashing of energies, a forbidden child. Next to him was a kitsune energy, though it was laced with a human aura…then he felt demon energy, but it wasn’t familiar to him, but the person looked human to him, and finally a human, in which he couldn’t really feel anything from him. His aura seemed to be like Miroku’s.

“…you’re Shippou I take it?” Kurama broke the ice, seeing the kit tense up.

“What’s it to you? Are you here to hurt my Momma?” he stepped up, tossing his backpack aside and letting his spells down.

“Kagome?” Souta said, at the mention of his sister. “What do you want with her?” he asked, assuming since Shippou let down his spells, then these people were demons.

“Calm down, brats. We’re here to protect her, not hurt her.” Yusuke said in a flat voice, scoffing at the small kit, not the least bit intimidated.

“Fox fire!” Shippou shouted out, but it wasn’t strong enough to do anything but torch Yusuke’s face, leaving black smudges. “You won’t come near her!” he shouts; he didn’t trust them for a second.

“Please calm down…we are spirit detectives and we’re here to help protect Kagome. Not hurt her.” Kurama spoke up in a calm voice, looking to the kit. A small smirk rested on Hiei’s face though, and Kuwabara was busting out laughing at Yusuke’s face.

“Oh that’s it, kid, you’re asking for it now…” he ground out, moving after Shippou, only to be tripped up by Souta quickly.

“You won’t touch my brother!” he shouted, glaring. The situation would have been funny, if not for the look of pure fury that crossed Yusuke’s eyes. Suddenly, everyone froze at the calling of a female voice.

“Shippou? Souta? What’s going on?” Kagome’s voice called out, as she had awoken from her nap.

“Momma!” the small kit shouted out, running past the four detectives to his mother’s embrace. “Hey there…did you have a good day at school?” she asked, smiling fondly to her child.

“Momma, they’re demons!” he shouted, ignoring her question. Glancing up from his face, Souta walked up to stand beside his sister.

“Oh, it’s you guys again…” she frowned lightly, a little confused. What were they doing here?

“You know them?” he replied, his eyes going wide.

“We’ve met…” she said softly, still looking to them, then she noticed the burns on Yusuke’s face, and her eyes filled with concern. “Are you alright?” she asked, setting Shippou down and moving towards him. They stood still as she approached, and he met her eyes, her aura flaring a bit around them, the soothing calm reaching each of their senses.
“Nothing major…just a couple of burns…” he played it off, wondering where the calming presence had come from all of a sudden. Looking to him with gentle eyes, she smiled and said, “Let me heal you?”

He blinked, confusion coming to his face before nodding softly, alright, if she wanted to, he wasn’t going to stop her. Giving him a soft smile, she slowly raised her hands to his face, and unintentionally got the attention of all their spectators, the detectives, and Souta and Shippou. The kit had seen his mother heal others before, but it had been awhile since she had to use that particular skill, and it always amazed him at how she did it.

The young toushin froze, not sure what to expect, before he felt a gentle sensation float across his skin, it was almost like silk, and all the while he felt her calming aura around his, easing the tension he felt. Kurama and Hiei felt uneasy at first, feeling her aura around them, before they felt the effects of it calming their inner turmoil, especially Hiei, who had never felt anything like the power she was exhibiting. The forces in his body were calmed, still clashing by no means, but the torture that his body went through on a daily basis, the powers that fought in his body that he was used to, was diminished greatly, leaving him feeling slightly numb, but a good numb, as the forces stilled.

Kurama was wary as Youko went quiet, before he heard his counterparts voice. ‘She’s amazing…’

The avatar looked to the young miko, who’s eyes were soft, and gentle, as she focused her powers and brought forth a gentle pink to her hands and slowly healed the burns on the detective’s face.

Yusuke was at a loss for words. He could feel the burns lessening, into nothing. Not like they hurt too terribly bad to begin with, but still, she was healing him, even after his temper with her earlier. Now she had his attention. And he wasn’t the only one who was looking at her as she pulled back her hands.

“Better?” she asked softly, giving him a smile.

He replied with a mute nod, looking back to the children, who were smiling knowingly at Kagome.

“So…what are you guys doing here?” she asked, giving a curious glance to them.

“Koenma’s orders.” Hiei said flatly. He was on edge as it was, at the foreign feeling she invoked in him, and all he wanted was to get away from her.

“Uhm…okay…now if I only knew who Koenma was?” she asked, even more confused, and a little hurt. Orders meant they were forced to come to her, and she hated that, more than she hated anything else. Inuyasha felt forced to be with her, to protect her. Honor and duty and all things that bound him to Kikyou, and bound him to helping her with the jewel. She was sick of honor, and duty, even though she would never force someone else to protect the Shikon, she would still try and make others see that some promises shouldn’t be kept, and honor to yourself was sometimes more important than honor to others.

“Miss Higurashi…Koenma is the leader of the spirit realm, and our boss.” Kurama stepped up, taking lead of the situation. “Could we…talk inside?” he asked, not liking having to talk out in the middle of her yard, even if no one was nearby.

She looked into those stormy emerald eyes and nodded softly, seeing that sadness even more prominent. The compassionate miko couldn’t help but wonder what led to it, and her heart ached to help him, as her powers came to life, slowly wrapping around him, offering him her comfort.

Kurama stilled as did the kitsune spirit within him, feeling her feathersoft touch again. Why did she feel the need to calm him? To comfort him? Neither had an answer, but at the moment, neither cared to question it aloud.

“Come on in…” she replied verbally, turning slowly and walking towards the house, curious about what the leader of the spirit realm could want with her, and already having an idea. The jewel was bringing more people and demons into her life, and she didn’t want that. Anyone in contact with it was met with disaster of some kind, and she had things fixed now. She didn’t want anyone else hurt because of it. Because of her…

Following the miko inside, the team began to explain their mission, about Koenma, and as expected, she didn’t take the news too kindly.

“No…I refuse. You don’t have to watch out for me. The jewel is concealed, I have some control over my power…I’ll guard it myself.” She replied vehemently, adamant about taking care of the jewel herself.

“And if you get killed by a demon? Then what?” Yusuke, temper back, bit back at her, getting to his feet.

She couldn’t reply. How could she? He had a valid point, and by the looks on the rest of their faces, they agreed with Yusuke. Surprisingly, the one who was against this mission to begin with, was now defending it.

“No one else should be involved! It’s my burden…no one else will get hurt by this jewel while I protect it!” she replied finally, her eyes shinning with tears. How was she supposed to explain about Naraku, about Kouga’s wolf pack, about all the demons and humans lost in the final battle, about all of it? “There are reasons I don’t want anyone else to protect it…” she added softly, looking away from them, getting control of her emotions again.

Shippou took this moment to speak up, having been patiently quiet during their conversation. “She doesn’t want anyone else to die.”

~*~

Ooo…cliffy. I’m sorry, but it was getting long and I have so much more to update on. X_x

Please R/R! I love em you know!