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Finding Kagome	By : MetsukiKaraTen Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 8806 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha and company, however I
DO own an overactive imagination...

Finding
Kagome

Chapter
19

Kagome's
tongue slipped past her lips as she concentrated on the elaborate
kanji she was attempting to duplicate. Sitting on her knees at a low
table, she chanced a darting glance at Michael's work down the table
from her. Why do I feel like I'm back in school . . .
she sighed, and failing . . .
She returned to her task, though it was difficult to concentrate. Of
course . . . I had to
ask Momma to make me more, so she insists I learn to do it myself.
Not that she had anything else
to worry about, oh no . . .

The revelations of the last few days swam in her head.
It was as though her comfortable little world had been gradually
pulled apart and reassembled into some abstract mural, where the
familiar had been replaced with the fantastic and reality was now the
illusion.

She
had known that within the legend there was some
basis in fact, but she had always seen it more as a tale of morality.
The pure of heart searching for some truth, amending an error by
restoring the shattered Jewel by battling elements of darkness and
evil. The 'Happily Ever After' ending with the completion of the
Jewel. She had never really thought about what happened after that.

But
isn't that how life is? There really is no end to any story, life
keeps happening . . . endings are merely constructs of the
storyteller.

“If
you don't concentrate, all you will have is a piece of pretty paper,
little one.” Ouna had been standing in the doorway for several
moments, observing her two 'apprentices'. “Are you going for
aesthetic or functional?”

“Preferably . . . both Ouna-sensei,”
remarked Michael with a grin.

“Hm,” she grunted as she moved closer to
examine his handiwork.

“I'm sorry Momma, I just can't seem to
concentrate. I'm trying, really I am . . .” Kagome took in a
deep breath and sat back from the table. She could feel the pulsing
of the orb that was nestled between her breasts, and it was
alternately comforting and distracting. Gazing at her efforts she
grimaced, “It's not even pretty paper.”

“Michael, are you sure you haven't done this
before?” Ouna picked up one of the dry sutra from the stack
that he had in front of him.

“No ma'am, this is all new ground for me, how do
they look?” He raised himself onto his knees stretching his
torso to see which one she was holding. Kagome leaned in their
direction also trying to get a glimpse.

“These are remarkable, Michael. What were you
thinking as you wrote them?”

He took a moment to consider her question. “I did
just what you said to do, I cleared my mind and then just
concentrated on the prayer for each one. Each one is different...”

“I
see that . . . and I can feel it
too. . .” she trailed off, peering at the young man.

Blushing under her scrutiny, Michael squirmed and made
motions of straightening up his work area. Setting the stack of
finished and dried sutra to the far side of the table, he quickly
pulled his hand back for his brush, grazing the still open ink jar
and tipping it over to spill some of the thick fluid on the table.
His unusually quick reflexes true to form, he righted the bottle with
a low curse as he frantically glanced around for something to clean
the mess with, trying to avoid Ouna's eyes. Grabbing an unused strip
of paper, he blotted at the ink spot, then folded it. Unfolding the
paper, he examined the result then held it up to Kagome.

“Ink blot . . . what do you see, Miko??”
Kagome tried to suppress a giggle behind the back of her hand, as he
cast her an impish grin.

“It would be interesting to see what Shippou
thinks of these,” Ouna commented absently, as Kagome and
Michael froze for a moment, then began snickering simultaneously at
the memory of the demon's repeated head bashing against Ouna's ward
earlier that morning. It was nice to laugh about it now, as
frightening as the whole scene had been to them as it had unfolded.

“Surely mine aren't as strong as yours are,
Ouna,“ he looked up and on seeing the seriousness in her eyes
he stopped chuckling, his cheeks reddening once again..

“Only one way to find out . . .” and she
grinned with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “He's been with
Taki for the last hour, going over the preliminary designs for the
set. Come with me Michael, lets set one up and see what happens.”

Michael rose to follow her, grabbing the stack off of
the table, his expression skeptical.

“Momma!
Isn't that kind of mean? I mean, he's your
friend . . . It just
seems mean to me, to do something like that . . .” Kagome
trailed off, as she rose to follow the two.

“There's no real harm, little one. Warning him
would defeat the purpose. If he knows what's there and who created
it, then that will effect his reaction to it. This way we can get a
true test of the power of Michael's work.” She led them from
the room, and out into the heavily landscaped courtyard which
separated the main house from the bungalows. During the summer
months these dwellings were filled with guests, escaping from the
city to relax in the hot springs, or participate in one of the many
workshops that were hosted there. Taki and Bo shared one of the
little houses on the far end, near the gardening shed, and that was
where Shippou had gone.

Kagome hesitated as they made their way down the steps,
watching as her mother whispered some instructions to Michael, who
then simply set a slip of paper which she had chosen onto the
pathway. Then sitting cross legged on the ground partially hidden
by a hydrangea bush, he pressed together his fingertips and assumed a
posture of meditation. Ouna walked back toward Kagome, and sat on an
ornate iron bench, looking back at her daughter, and patting the seat
next to her in invitation.

“I don't like this, Momma,” Kagome muttered
as she seated herself beside her mother. “It just feels . . .
wrong.”

“Shippou has been a Godsend, little one. I have
learned much about the nature of his kind from him. His mate is from
Great Britain, did you know that? She is also kitsune-youkai. This
won't be the first time for him to be my guinea pig, nor the last I
am sure,” she patted her daughter's hand.

Kagome stared at her mother in disbelief. She still had
a million questions that had not been answered. It seemed as though
no sooner than she would just begin to get comfortable with one new
revelation, and another one would be thrown at her.

“Momma, why didn't you ever tell me about Shippou
before now?”

“Hm . . . it never came up?” Kagome raised
an eyebrow at Ouna's feeble attempt at evasion.

“How long have you known him??” She
demanded. “How did you meet him??”

Ouna
fixed her gaze on her only child, then letting out a slow breath, she
scanned the courtyard searching for a suitable answer. Her greatest
fear had been realized the day they had removed the Shikon no Tama
from her baby girl. It would have been so much simpler if
it had been purified. . . now only an uncertain future lies ahead .
Kagome deserved answers, but
she feared losing her because of those answers. There was nothing
to be done now, only the truth would suffice.

“We
met at the family shrine in Tokyo. You were a tiny baby then. My
mother sent me, well . . . sent us
. . . so that I could get grounded after your father was killed,”
her gaze returned to her daughter. “Losing him so suddenly left
me a bit of a lost soul, I suppose,” she sighed.

“You
never told me we went to Japan, Momma.” There was hint of
disbelief in Kagome's expression as she watched her mother seem to
gather courage for what was to follow. Can it really be
that bad??

“He
had said that he wanted to see where his adopted mother came from. I
thought he was addled at first, I had heard nothing about any legal
adoptions in the family, so I assumed he had the wrong place. He took
me to Goshinboku, and told me that was where the hanyou had been
sleeping, the one who had raised him,” her gaze unfocused, “It
never made any sense to me, how a half demon could be sealed to the
family tree and no one notice it . . . and here was this stranger,
appearing from no where telling me details about our God Tree . . .”
Ouna went quiet

“You didn't know his true nature then, I take it
. . .” Kagome pressed.

“No . . . he appeared to be European, with his
oddly bright red hair . . . Then he told me about my aunt, and what
strong and brave woman she was and how she had cared for him after he
was orphaned, how the miko and the hanyou avenged his father's
murder. He spoke of his grief when she died, and how hurt he was
when the hanyou had driven him away.” Ouna paused in
reflection.

“Are you saying that something about his story
didn't add up? Momma, seriously, there is a lot about all of this
that just doesn't add up to me . . . Kagome put her hand on her
mother's and nodded in the direction of the path. 'Oh look, here they
come. . .”

Taki, Bo and Shippou strolled toward the courtyard
chatting animatedly, Taki waving a cardboard tube in emphasis, while
Bo ambled along behind them nodding his agreement. Shippou waved his
hands in front of him, obviously negating something, then looked up
to see Kagome and Ouna sitting on the bench. His frown turned to a
brilliant smile.

“Ouna,
your man does not see eye to eye with me!” he shouted as he
quickened his step. “Is there a reason
that the Bone Eater's Well has been excluded?”

“The Bone . . . what??” demanded Kagome as
she looked at her mother's disconcerted expression.

“I was getting to that part . . .” her
mother muttered, and their attention was suddenly drawn to the source
of a wild yelp as all three men were bounced back onto the stone
walkway.

“Get off of me you oaf!!” grumbled Taki at
a startled Bo who had been blown backwards by Shippou, who was now
sprawled on the path, holding his head.

“Oh Momma, see?? They're hurt!!” and
Kagome jumped up to go assist, while Michael emerged from behind the
bush with a sheepish grin.

Bo rolled off of Taki, shaking his head as Kagome
offered him a hand up. The aging gardener on the other hand, while
quick to accept was unable to rise, grabbing his knee and wincing in
pain.

Ouna quickly made her way to the demon, laughing as she
knelt by his side. She motioned for Michael to join her and he did
so, albeit a bit timidly.

“That one wasn't one of yours . . . that one
really . . . hurt!!” Shippou moaned as he rubbed his head,
examining his old friend. He then glared at the young man for a
moment, as though considering a proper act of retribution. “Lose
the fucking ward, monk...” he growled. Michael's eyes widened,
the terse order sounded so . . . familiar . . . and instinctively
he raised his hands in an effort to explain. “NOW!” He
quickly grabbed the sutra and ripped it, sensing the dissipation of
the power as he did so.

“Don't be angry at the boy, Shippou . . . I told
him to do it. It was the only way to fairly test his power . . .”
Ouna explained, attempting to diffuse the situation.

“Riiight,” and the youkai slowly stood,
eying the young man suspiciously.

“Momma, this is bad . . .” Kagome drew
their attention to to Taki's knee, which had begun to swell
noticeably.

“Stupid moose landed right on top of me . . .”
he groaned, rubbing at his knee while casting a fiery glare at Bo,
who stood back with a terribly sad expression in his eyes.

“It was an accident, Taki . . . Bo got knocked
around too . . . by my head I think,” grumbled the youkai
rubbing at his temple. “No more, monk . . . I mean it . . .
once is more than enough. Some things carry over. Miroku was quite
formidable, you know.”

“I didn't know . . . Miroku, huh?”
Michael's focus on the kitsune-youkai intensified for a moment, then
he muttered, “sorry . . .” then wandered over to the
bench to sit and stare at the sky.

“I told you this was a bad idea, Momma! Now look
at Taki's leg . . .” Kagome chastised. Ouna rose and went to
examine the damage, her fingers gingerly pressing against his kneecap
with a light glow.

“Doesn't look good, I think we should have this
scanned . . .” she mumbled. Youkai were damn near
indestructible, but her gardener wasn't, and the guilt was beginning
to seep into her cheeks.

“I
can alleviate some of the pain, but you shouldn't walk on it...”
she concentrated her energy on swollen tissue.

“Wait . . . Momma . . .” hesitation in
her voice, Kagome could feel a pulse radiating through her body.
“Let me try something . . . please?” The memory of her
dream was vivid, her hands had glowed as she touched the injury, and
it had healed right before their eyes. Perhaps that is what the new
sensations were about...

Ouna backed away, as she watched her daughter reach out
toward Taki's knee. The pink aura began at her fingertips and
radiated past her elbows as she gently laid her open palms across the
effected area. The pulse was like a heartbeat that filled the air
around them...

one...

two...

three...

and Kagome pulled back to examine her handiwork.

Michael jumped at the throbbing in the air around him,
it seemed to crackle, and he rushed to her side to see Taki working
his knee, which appeared to no longer be swollen in the least.

“She's remembering,” Shippou whispered.

“I'll be damned . . .” Michael mumbled,
rubbing the back of his neck with wide eyes focused on Kagome.

“No, monk . . . You're blessed . . .”
corrected the youkai. “We all are. She's really back.”

Staring at the youkai, Michael sensed a kind of
apprehension behind that statement. He watched his dear friend as she
helped the gardener up to test his freshly healed knee.

“Why do I get the feeling . . .” he
commented, “that for some strange reason this does not bode
well?”

~ooO0Ooo~
- 18
- 19
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Finding Kagome