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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
- 21
- 22
- 23
DISCLAIMER: I do not own InuYasha and company, however I
DO own an overactive imagination...

Finding Kagome

Chapter Twenty Two

“Something is wrong,” muttered Michael as
he paced back and forth on the front porch of Ouna's residence,
stopping periodically with hands in his pockets to peer down the road
as though by his will alone he could make Sally's car appear. “It's
not like her to be so late. Her shift ended at four . . . she should
have been here more than an hour ago.”

“Relax Mikey, Sally's an expert driver,”
assured Kagome as she released the moth she had just healed for the
second time. “This is so cool!” She watched the insect
fly directly into the porch light and begin bouncing off of it again.
He cast a glance at the moth, then at her and rolled his eyes.
Witnessing his less than enthusiastic reaction, she sighed. “She
said she was going by my place, right? She'll be here soon.”
She idly fingered Jewel as she watched him resume his pacing.

Shippou had left shortly after the incident in the
courtyard. He had seemed agitated, and had taken her mother aside to
speak privately about something. Whatever it had been about, it had
left Ouna in her own state of disquiet which she had unsuccessfully
tried to cover with a cheerful discussion about options for the
evening meal.

Taki
had seemed like a new person after having his knee healed. Kagome
knew the man to be nearing his middle sixties, but after the
powerful intervention he seemed much younger. More than just an
injured knee had been healed. What the argument with Shippou had
been about seemed to have been forgotten by both parties after that.
Kagome couldn't help but wonder what it was that Shippou had told her
mother, and why had it left her so disturbed. One thing was
certain, she knew it had something to do with her, and she didn't
like that at all. He had hugged her tightly before going, telling her
to practice her archery,
of all things. I haven't used a bow since the fifth grade .
. . why would he tell me to start now?

Michael
stopped his pacing. As he crossed one arm over his chest, he
stretched one long fingered hand across his lowered forehead and
rubbed both temples simultaneously. With a frustrated grunt, he
dragged the hair tie out of his long black hair, and shook it out
vigorously before rubbing fingers through it, massaging his scalp.
Kagome couldn't remember ever having seen him so agitated. Michael
had always been one of the most easy going people she had ever known.
Why is everyone so uptight? Am I just having an empathic
response . . . or is something really wrong here?

“Do
you have a headache Mikey?” she rose from the step where she
had been sitting to reach out to him, pausing to suppress a giggle at
his wild appearance after mussing his hair. “All you need now
are hairy knuckles, and you would make a great cave man . . .”
she grinned. He crossed his arms, leaning slightly to one side,
arching a brow at her. “C'mere . . “. she beckoned, as
she approached to gently turn him so she could access his taught
shoulders with nimble fingers.

“God that feels good . . .” he moaned, his
knees dipping slightly as she pushed her thumbs into the muscle, and
he twisted his neck to look at her hand on his shoulder, “What
. . . no pink junk? Wow, I'm impressed.”

“Hey, I know a little bit about massage without
having to rely on the 'pink junk',” she scowled. “Is it
really that bad? I mean . . . do you see the power as a bad thing?”

“Bad? No Kagome, it's a blessing . . . just like
Shippou said . . .” he paused.

“Why do I hear a 'but'?” she stopped her
ministrations, twisting around him to lock onto his the depths of
his dark eyes.

“There's no 'but' . . .” and he sighed. “Ok
. . . so maybe a little of the 'sour grapes' syndrome.” He
turned and smoothed his expression, “You have an amazing
ability, Kagome . . . and I'm proud of how you are handling it.”

“So
do you!! Kami, Mikey!! You stopped Shippou dead in his tracks . . .
you made him bounce off
of that ward! You heard what he said . . . Miroku was a powerful
monk, and it's obviously carried over . . .” Kagome realized
suddenly that she had grabbed both of his arms in her exuberance and
was very nearly shaking him. She blushed and let go, backing away a
step.

“No you don't,” he reached out and pulled
her in for a warm embrace. “You can't try to shake sense into
my thick skull without giving me a hug afterwards . . . that's the
rules.”

“The rules, huh?” as he was nearly a head
taller, her ear was on his chest as her arms encircled his waist and
she could hear his heartbeat while he kissed the top of her head.
“Mikey, do you remember anything? About . . . before?”
she raised her eyes to meet his.

“I
think Shippou was right . . .” There was a look in his eyes she
had never seen before, “he said we were all in
love with you . . . I have no doubt in the truth of that.”
There was a longing in his expression, and it pulled at her
uncomfortably. She had to look away. Michael shouldn't be looking
at her like that.

“What do you think happened to the hanyou?”
her ear was again against his chest and she gazed off into the night.

“Honestly?” he sighed. “Your guess is
as good as mine . . .” he pulled back to look into her liquid
blue eyes, “had it been me . . . I would have followed you
post haste into the afterlife.”

Kagome's breath caught. There were entirely too many
levels of 'wrong' in the way he was looking at her. It crossed her
mind that it had to be because he was missing Selene, and she quickly
changed the direction of their discussion.

“But you had Sally . . . what did he say her name
was?” at this prompting his attention moved to the road again,
and Kagome suppressed a sigh of relief. That had just been . . .
scary.

“He
said her name was Sango, and . . . she was an exterminator.”
His brow furrowed. “It stands to reason that she has some
innate powers too. The thing that has me concerned is, why all of
this is manifesting now.
Why not five years ago? Do you remember when we first met?”

“Of course I do,” Kagome smiled at the
memory. “I was fresh out of high school, and trying to find my
way around the campus. I was so lost . . .”

“And you had your head stuck in that map of the
campus and ran headlong into me in the hallway of the Psych
building,” he finished.

“mmhmm, and when you were helping me pick up my
books your hand . . .” Kagome blushed, as she felt a familiar
albeit unwelcome warmth on her left buttock. Smacking Michael on the
shoulder she moved away from him with a glare. Lecherous jerk. And
she had gotten close enough to let him do it!!

“My hand had a mind of it's own . . . some
things just don't change . . .” and he smirked as he rubbed at
his shoulder. “It's a curse, I tell ya . . . a curse!”

“I'll
show you cursed!” She shook her fist at him. “Your woman
will be here soon, and she can
deal with your stupid cursed hand . . .” she folded her arms in
a huff. “Oh . . . look . . .” her eyes fell on the moth,
laying still on the boards of the porch. She bent to carefully pick
it up.

“You know, that's really kind of sick, Kagome . .
. repeatedly healing that stupid bug,” Michael criticized as
he focused once again on the road. “You are just prolonging the
inevitable.”

“Yeah, well . . . I guess it stops here,”
she muttered as she frowned at the frozen form in her hands. “I
suppose it would be asking too much to be able to raise the dead,
huh?”

At that, he studied her with a look of amazement, as
she held the deceased insect in her delicate hand.

“You should be careful for what you wish for,
little one,” Ouna commented, standing just inside the wood
framed screen door. “Any new ability brings more
responsibility. I think you have enough on your shoulders as it is,
don't you?” Ancient spring hinges wheezed as she opened the
door to join them.

“That's what has me worried . . . why is all
this is happening now, Ouna? Anything else that you haven't told
us?” The look on Michael's face was on the border of
accusatory. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Kagome's attention
shifted back and forth between the two, wondering if perhaps she may
have missed something.

“Momma,”
she ventured, “What did Shippou say to you just before he left?
I know it was something that bothered you, I could see it in your
eyes.” She approached her mother, placing her hand on her
shoulder, examining the expression on her mother's face. She's
really worried...

“Well . . .” Ouna looked out into the
night, dark with the early waxing of the moon. “Basically he
reprimanded me for not telling you about the well.” She looked
at her daughter, wary of how she would react.

“What well, Ouna?” queried Michael.

“The Bone Eater's Well . . .” she sighed.
“It's an ancient well, housed deep in the basement of one of
the storage buildings at the shrine. I knew about it, because
Shippou showed it to me when we first met.”

“O-Okay . . . and?” Kagome prompted,
seeing the reluctance in her mother's eyes. Ouna pulled a stool up
and sat down, with an air of resignation.

“Kagome, did you ever wonder how it was that no
one ever saw the hanyou before Aunt Kagome did? I mean no one ever
noticed anything strange about Goshinboku, other than it's age and
size. . . yet that's where she found him? And he had been there for
50 years.”

Kagome peered at her mother, as she thought about the
questions. This must be one of those things that didn't add up.

“What are you trying to say, Momma?” she
pressed, emotionally bracing herself for whatever it might be.

“It
wasn't so much where Aunt
Kagome hunted for the shards, little one . . .” and she took a
deep breath watching her daughter's reaction. “It was when.”

“Wait a minute...” Michael held up his
hands, “Your Great Aunt was born in the middle 1970's . . . so
it stands to reason that she began her adventure around 1990. Did
the hanyou just appear one day on the Sacred Tree?”

“No Michael, she found him on the tree, certainly
. . . but not in 1990. It was probably closer to 1490, at least from
what we have been able to deduce.”

“The ancient Miko garb . . .” mused Kagome.
“Of course! That's why in the pictures of her with Great
Grandfather Souta she wore those traditional clothes . . . but . . .
oh now I am confused. There weren't cameras back then!”

“No, no, no, no, little one . . .” Ouna
reached up to touch her daughter's arm. “The well was her
gateway back and forth.”

“OK... now we're crossing into science fiction
here,” and Michael waved his hands in the air in exasperation.
“So what is it?? Fantasy, full of demons and magic? Or sci-fi
with time travel through mysterious hidden portals??”

“It
can't be categorized like that, Mikey . . . i t's not a story!! Not
anymore . . . Don't you get it? This stuff really happened!! It's
happening NOW! Or how else would you explain Shippou, or what
happened in the courtyard? Or Taki's knee? Or . . . or . . . or
that stupid moth??”
Kagome was near tears, as she motioned toward where she had left the
insect laying on the edge of the porch.

“Michael, fix your hair... Selene is coming...”
Ouna cast aside calmly, as she took Kagome into her arms. “Unless
you want her to believe that you have left off personal grooming this
last week...”

“What??
Oh, hell,” and
he began to drag his fingers through the tangles while attempting to
bring some sense of order to his world. Muttering more to himself
than the two women, “I can buy the supernatural, I've always
believed there was more to the world than meets the eye . . .
religion has documented instances of miracles for centuries, prayer
meeting healing, stigmata . . . even if it seems more to do with
the ability of the human brain to bring about changes . . . cases
of close connections between people,” he paused to wrap the tie
at the base of his neck, then began pacing with his mutterings,
“telepathic and empathic responses, dream communications . .
.” he held up each hand alternately as though weighing sides to
his internal argument, “even magical creatures, which have been
a staple throughout history, perpetuating mythos, usually with
concentration on moral instruction . . .”

“I am beginning to think the analyst is in need
of analysis . . .” Ouna whispered to her daughter, who's tears
had become soft giggles.

“...but
I will be damned if I
can find a justification or rationalization in belief in a time
traveling teenager...” and he looked over at the two of them
gaping, “Who tries to save the world!” At this point both
hands were up, in more of a shrug than in a balance to the weight
of his arguments. “What's so damn funny?”

Sally's car pulled into the driveway, wild guitar riffs
blaring then sudden silence as she killed the engine. She jumped out
dragging a six pack of beer with her.

“I am here!! And I brought beer!!” she
announced as she trotted up the steps to grab Michael into a vice
grip.

“You're
a poet, my dear Selene . . . how on Earth did you know how badly
I need a drink right now?”
he returned her hug with equal enthusiasm, “Gods how I have
missed you,” he whispered into her ear, accenting it with a
deep kiss.

“If you don't need a drink now, you will when I
get through,” she broke her hold on him and turned to Kagome.
“I have some really bad news, 'Gome . . .” and she pulled
out a long neck and handed it to her closest friend.

Ouna frowned as she watched her daughter take the
offered bottle.

Kagome collapsed cross legged on the porch, looking
absently at the bottle she was holding. Sally crouched on her
haunches in front of her, elbows on her knees holding an open bottle
with a question furrowing her brow.

“Has anyone made any threats against you
recently?” she asked, in her best big sister tone.

Kagome
blinked, then examined her friend. What a strange question
. . .

“May
I have permission to run away screaming now??” pleaded Michael
as he twisted the cap off of one of the beers, tipping it to pull a
long swallow.

“Not advisable Michael . . . you know what's out
there,” warned Ouna.

“No problem!! I'll just toss ofuda at the boogie
men as I go . . .” he waved his hand as though throwing his
slips of paper, then he shook his head tipping the bottle upside down
again and turning away.

“What are you talking about??” demanded the
detective, twisting to glare at her fiancée.

“Don't ask,” whispered Kagome. “What's
happened Selene?”

“Your apartment was ransacked . . . no . . .
wait . . . that's not entirely accurate,” and she looked down
at her feet.

“Ransacked? You mean someone broke in?”
Kagome asked with disbelief..

“That's an understatement . . . ' Gome . . . the
door was splintered and off the hinges,” she trailed off,
finally taking a drink from her own bottle.

“And so it has begun . . .” Ouna frowned
even deeper.

“Are
you kidding? It began last Saturday . . . I would definitely
say its already 'in
progress'.” Michael
drained the bottle and placing it back in the carton reached
immediately for another.

“What are you talking about, monk?” Sally
demanded, peering at him. Michael leaned on one hip as he twisted the
cap off the bottle.

He nodded to Kagome with a grim expression. “Show
her...” he said.

“Show me what? What is going on?” Sally
stared at Kagome with her brow furrowed.

Kagome blinked, appearing a little shell shocked as she
reached for the leather strap that held the Jewel. Pulling it out
from under her blouse she held it dangling in front of her for Sally
to see. Even though partially obscured inside the makeshift cradle
that Michael had fashioned, it shone brightly, reflecting in Sally's
dark brown eyes.

“Holy Mother of . . .” the detective was
completely awed as she leaned slightly from one side to the other
examining the orb. “What is that thing?”

“It's the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four
Souls,” Michael informed her. “And now that she has it,
apparently a big fat can of worms has been opened up.”

“So it's not just a myth . . . How in the world
did you get the Sacred Jewel, 'Gome?” The detective's gaze was
locked on the Jewel.

“I guess . . .” Kagome faltered. “I
guess because it's mine. Something to do with my fate.” She
sounded resigned.

“Tell her the rest, Kagome.” Michael's
voice had softened as he watched his best friend's expression turn
grim. “She should hear it from you...”

“OK, so 'Gome has the Jewel now, what's the big
deal? I mean . . .” and Sally thought for a moment. “It's
not like she has to go hunting for pieces of it, right? It looks
intact to me.”

“That
makes it all the more precious .
. . and dangerous,”
Ouna supplied. “She's right, it's her fate . . . it's always
been her fate.”

“Sally, there is so much to tell you, I honestly
don't know where to start,” Kagome whispered, shaking her head.
“Let me ask you a question.”

“Okay, ask away,” she prompted, lowering
herself to also sit cross legged across from her friend.

“Have you ever felt like . . . like . . . we've
met before? I mean when we first got to know one another. . .”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Sally consider the
question.

“Sure,” came the hesitant answer, “I
did kind of . . . and when you introduced me to Michael I really
felt it strongly then . . . it was kind of scary at first.”

“There's a reason for that,” Michael moved
to them and lowered himself behind her wrapping his arms around her.
“That dream you had . . . wasn't a dream, honey.”

She twisted around to look into his warm brown eyes,
full of sincerity. Her own eyes were full of horror at the memory of
the dream, which she had only just him told about, though it had been
recurring for weeks.

“Wasps don't get that big,” she stated
flatly, turning back around to look at Kagome. “And the wind
doesn't blow that hard, not around here.”

“I thought you had wards up in your apartment,
little one . . . “ her mother interrupted. “you said you
did when we talked on the phone.”

“I did Momma . . . but I had to break the ones
on the door when I left . . . I guess I didn't do it right,”
she looked down at the bottle in her hands again.

“Wards?” Sally asked. “What is she
talking about?”

“These . . .” and Michael pulled out one of
the sutra and handed it around to her. “They are protection
against youkai.”

“Youkai? You mean like the demons in the
stories?” she queried, reaching out to take the slip of rice
paper and examining it. “I saw some like this, on the windows
and around the door frame . . . Oh surely you don't think that
demons are chasing you, Kagome!!” Michael tightened his arms
around her.

“How bad is the apartment, Sally? I mean . . .
really?” She looked into the detective's eyes.

“It's bad . . . really bad . . .” a ghost
of fear fleeted across the detective's features, as she pressed her
her cheek against her fiancées encircling arm, eying the kanji
on the paper.

“Kami . . .” Kagome finally twisted at the
cap to open the bottle, smelling the contents. She wrinkled her nose
before taking a deep swallow. “Then I guess it's time to go
home,” she frowned.

“One more day, little one . . . give me one more
day with you.” Her mother asked. “It sounds like it isn't
going to get any worse than it is, and I need to explain some more
things about your power.” She brightened, “And Selene can
enjoy the spa and relax for a little bit!” She nodded to Sally,
then more seriously to her daughter, “It's safer here, at least
for now.”

“You
can't go home, 'Gome . . .” Sally hesitated. “There's not
much left to go home to.”

Kagome nodded sadly, acknowledging the seriousness of
what she would find on her return. Sally reached over, placing her
hand on Kagome's arm.

“You're coming home with me. I've got plenty of
room, and you can stay as long as you need to . . . till you get
everything figured out,” She announced. “And . . .”
she looked at Ouna, “She'll be safe with me. After all, all
that training I've gone through has got to come in handy for
something besides just busting bad guys, right?”

A wolf howled in the distance, and Kagome shivered.

~ooO0Ooo~
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Finding Kagome