She Who the Prophecy Foretold | By : SunsetMiko Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Sessh?maru/Kagome > Sessh?maru/Kagome Views: 29224 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 8 |
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Chapter 22 – Deciphering the Prophecy and Connecting the Dots
Miroku and Sango dragged the unconscious Inuyasha back to the village. Kaede had not yet returned and so they treated his wounds as best they could on their own. Now, hours later, he was still unconscious and the monk and slayer were sitting around the fire pit with the elder miko, talking quietly.“Kaede, did you notice something different about Kagome when she returned?” Miroku asked while sipping his tea.“What are you talking about, Miroku? Why didn’t you say anything?” Sango sounded upset. Too many odd things were happening and she felt left in the dark once again.Kaede nodded. “Yes, Monk, I did sense the difference. Sango, we did not mention it because Kagome was not yet ready to share.”“Yes, when I looked at her she made her begging eyes at me, so I kept my mouth shut. I noticed something else earlier today, though. You know the mark on Kazue’s face, the little pink teardrop? I also saw it on all of Sesshoumaru’s pups. When we were returning to the village, I noticed it on Shippo’s cheek as well, but I am sure it had not been there this morning. And that howl, right after Kagome jumped in the well. I think that was Sesshoumaru, although I can’t figure for the life of me why!”“Yes, ye are correct. The heartbreaking howl that was heard was, indeed, from the great Lord of the West. I believe that he is connected in some way to Kagome, although he does not bear the same marking. The pink teardrop you noticed on the others is Kagome’s mark. They have bonded. I believe that both Sesshoumaru and his pups may have marked Kagome as a pack member. Somehow, Kagome also bonded with the pups and young Shippo. Did ye not sense the holy power in them? It is weak, but it is there. All who bear her pink teardrop now carry a portion of her power. I suspect it has made them immune to holy powers. It may have also given them some ability to wield the power, but I know not for certain.” Kaede hadn’t needed to be close to the young lords and Shippo to know. She could feel the new power in each of them from right where she sat.“She gave them her power? Well, I understand her marking and being marked by Shippo, but Sesshoumaru’s pups? And if Sesshoumaru marked her as pack, that is a serious thing. He would be able to sense if she is in danger and share some of her feelings. That makes sense, though. When she went through the well, the bond must have been cut and that only happens when the marked person dies, which explains that howl.” Sango finally understood and her knowledge of demon traditions was actually being useful.“But then, when would this have happened? I didn’t sense it that last time we saw her which means… It means she lied to us about where she was while we believed her to be lost. She had to have been with Sesshoumaru. But why would she be with him? And why lie about it?” Miroku’s questions hung in the air for a few moments before Kaede merely smiled at them.“That is for Kagome to say when she is ready.” She looked pointedly at the still unconscious hanyou and the others took the hint. Discussing this further was not a good idea, just in case Inuyasha woke up. Hearing talk of his brother and Kagome would only send him back out looking for a fight. With the topic shelved for the time being, Sango and Miroku did their best to settle down to sleep.It had been a busy day and Sango slipped into a peaceful rest rather quickly. Miroku, though, had a hard time falling asleep. He knew there was more going on and Kaede knew and was hiding things from them. Never before Kagome’s disappearance had he ever gotten that feeling from the old miko, and now it was driving him crazy. He felt like the answer was right in front of him and he just couldn’t see it. When he finally managed to find sleep, his dreams were nothing but a swirling mass of questions and pink teardrops.~ SWtPF~Kouga reached his den in the late afternoon, hoping and praying that one of his wolves had found her and she was there waiting for him. What greeted him, however, was a very depressed pack. All who had been sent out to search had returned empty-handed or pawed. They all loved Kagome, who they had accepted as a pack sister, and their inability to locate her was very unsettling.Ginta and Hakaku were especially upset, both sitting around a fire, staring deep into the flames. Kouga checked in with each wolf individually, hoping that one may have found some hint or clue to where she could be. After hours of disappointment, he finally gave up and sat down next to Hakaku, staring at the flames as well.“So you didn’t find anything either, Kouga?” Ginta asked softly.Kouga shook his head. “I don’t think so. While I was searching the West, I thought I smelled her, but then Lord Sesshoumaru showed up and kicked me out of his lands. Now I’m not sure if I really smelled her or not. And we need to do something about Ayame. Even the Ice Lord thought she was my intended. How in the world did he hear about it? Is she sending out announcements or something? I don’t know why she can’t understand that I'm not interested in her! All because of one stupid thing I said years ago, too, and she was just a kid! How do I get her off my back so I can focus on my Kagome?”“Yeah, she refuses to take no for an answer. Ayame must really love you.” Ginta let out a little sigh. He wouldn’t mind mating Ayame, but she didn’t even look at him. No, she only had eyes for Kouga, who had absolutely no interest in her. It reminded him of how Kouga could only see Kagome, even though it was clear, to him at least, that she only saw him as a friend. But no matter how many times he tried to give him a hint, Kouga merely ignored him.“Love me? No, she only wants to mate me because her grandfather thinks it would make the packs stronger. She does anything the old wolf tells her.”Hakaku merely shook his head. He'd seen the way she gazed at the Wolf Prince when he wasn’t looking. Ayame was definitely in love with Kouga. There was no doubt in his mind. “So, you thought you smelled Kagome in the Western Lands?”“Yeah. It was odd, though. For a minute, I thought I smelled that kit that follows her around, too. And when I met up with her friends and the mutt back at the village, the kit wasn’t there. It couldn’t have been them though, because Sesshoumaru would definitely have smelled them both and removed them from his lands. You know how he feels about his brother. I doubt he would allow anyone who travels with the half-breed anywhere near his palace, or really anywhere in the West at all. He would have made me take them away with me. I had to have been imagining it. You know, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me because I wanted to find her so badly.”“I hope sister is all right somewhere. She has been missing for a long time now and none of us found any trace of her at all.” Ginta really was worried. Kagome was nice to him, to everyone really. She didn’t deserve to be kidnapped or, even worse, eaten by demons. And if Naraku found her? He didn’t even want to think of the possibilities there. The spider hanyou was pure evil, sick and twisted, and if he got his hands on the sweet miko, she would know nothing but suffering from that moment on. He wouldn't wish such a thing on his worst enemy.“Well, I’m going back to the village tomorrow to let them know that no one found her. I guess we will decide what to do from there. I don’t care if I have to search every inch of Japan myself. I will find her and I will find her alive. I don’t believe that something could have happened to her. I refuse to even think that she could be dead. No, my Kagome is too strong for that. She’s out there somewhere.”~ SWtPF~It was dark when Kagome finally woke and she felt awful. Her eyes burned from all her tears, her chest and back ached from her sobs and, to top it all off, she was hungry! Checking the time, she found that it was nearly midnight. Surely everyone was in bed. She was not in the mood to see anyone right now. She opened her bedroom door quietly and crept down the stairs into the kitchen. She didn’t turn on any lights in hopes of not waking anyone. When she opened the refrigerator door, however, the soft glow illuminated her grandfather sitting quietly at the table. Letting out a sigh, Kagome grabbed a snack and sat down across from him.“Your mother said you were quite upset. You must understand, Kagome, we did not wish to keep this from you. It was necessary.” Her grandfather’s voice was low and serious, a change from his happy and noisy persona.“So, you were in on it, too, huh? What about Souta? Does he know, too?”“No, Souta does not know and he does not have to be told if you prefer. Or we can explain things to him later, when you return to the past. You have to understand, Kagome. We were not even sure that the prophecy spoke of you until you were pulled into the well. Things were laid out in a specific order, as you read in the scroll, and you could not know before it was time or things would not have taken place as they should and all could have been lost.”“Yeah, I know. I just wish I could have known. I spent two years blaming myself for breaking the jewel and now I find out I was supposed to? It would have been good to know, don’t you think?”“While it may have made you feel better, it would have also changed your experiences during that time. The hardships you lived through have made you stronger. Tell me, Kagome. Did you understand everything in the scroll? I am here, you know, to try to help you interpret it.”Kagome nodded. “Yeah, Gramps, thanks. I think I know who courage, knowledge, and friendship are, but love? That made no sense. I have no idea who that might be. And the three things that I apparently had to experience before I could have the scroll? What were those?”“My dear, the three things I can help with, but the love, well, that is something that will become clear with time. You just need to keep an open mind and remember that first impressions are not always everything. Now, let me help you with the three experiences. The seven treasures give a love before unknown. In the last week or so, when your friends thought you were missing, where were you really?”“I was helping Inuyasha’s brother, Lord Sesshoumaru. His pups had been cursed and I was the only one who could save them.” Kagome paused for a minute. “His seven pups… they wanted me to be their mother and each marked me as pack. Look!” Kagome lifted the spell and rolled up her sleeve to show her grandfather the seven lines. “That’s what it is, isn’t it! They are the seven treasures and they gave me the love they would have given a mother, but they never had one before!”“Yes, my dear. Now, what of the second? A great power gives the gift of the night sky. This lord of yours, he is powerful, no?”“Yeah, but a gift of the night sky? Sesshoumaru gave me a dog, a black dog, but that can’t be it.”“Is that the only gift he gave you?”Kagome unbuttoned the first three buttons of her shirt and looked at the mark left by Sesshoumaru. She found herself staring at “the night sky,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone. “He called it a gift when he marked me as pack and his mark is the night sky.”“And the third, granddaughter? The blue flame of Seven Treasures burns bright?”“I’m not sure. The pups didn’t do anything with flames, let alone blue flames. That sounds more like Shippo’s.” She rolled up her other sleeve, showing her paw print in foxfire.“Kagome, Shippo’s name means seven treasures.”Kagome’s jaw dropped. “It’s just… it’s… so… surreal! To read about things that have happened to me on a scroll that was written hundreds of years ago, and every detail is right!”“The prophecy was given by an ancient seer and has been guarded by the descendants of Midoriko for nearly one thousand years and now it has come true, just as it was written. You are, without a doubt, the new great priestess destined to defeat the great evil and redeem Midoriko’s soul.”“Gramps… you and Mama had to have known about the marks, but no one has seen them before now, besides those who gave them to me. How did you know?”“Your mother is a priestess herself and could sense the marks. She has also been checking in on you. Ask her tomorrow and she will show you. Now, you should be off to bed, granddaughter. Much lies ahead of you and you will need your strength.”Kagome nodded before placing her dishes in the sink and padding softly up the stairs to her room. She fell asleep quickly, this time with a smile on her face. It was comforting to know that everything was going according to plan, even though she had never known there was one.~ SWtPF~Sesshoumaru was having a very strange dream. He was sitting in the garden with his mother at her favorite spot and she was talking to him. The strange thing was that he couldn’t hear all the words. There were blank spots, where he could see her lips moving, but there was no sound.“Sesshoumaru, do you remember… I told you when… just a pup? About the dream I had right before… your father? It will soon be time my… you to find… buried for her.”He was staring at her sitting there looking as beautiful, and perfect as ever, just as he remembered her. But why couldn’t he hear everything she was saying? He couldn’t understand what she meant. Too much was missing. “Mother, I cannot understand you. What is it you are trying to tell me?” She reached out and touched his hand. “What is buried where?”She simply smiled and continued on. “I am so happy that you finally… love her as you… to. It’s here my son… to find it. I couldn’t believe… but then I… in your hand. It was… had been described. I am so glad that… your place in her heart.”“What was in my hand? Are you speaking of Kagome?” He was getting really frustrated now. If she had something important enough to tell him from beyond the grave, then he wanted to know what it was! He wanted to hear every single word! It had been so long since he had heard her voice.“You are the fourth... keep her safe. Find the scroll… Akihiro… hidden in the… shelf. It will explain… the human child… to find. The miko will… blood from each of… the kit as well. I believe you will… the changes it will cause.”“What scroll am I to look for? Akihiro? What about Kagome and blood? Nothing is making any sense!” He was getting increasingly aggravated.“I am sorry for that. I am… strong enough to… you need to know. I know you… stand eventually. Sesshoumaru, my son… obstacles but I know… them. You are more powerful… anticipated. The priestess was right.” She stopped talking then, and rose from the bench, starting to slowly walk away.“Mother, wait. The priestess was right about what? What obstacles? Don’t go yet. Mother.”She turned back and looked directly into her son’s eyes. “She… about everything. I love… son. I love you.” At her last words, she faded from solid to transparent until she was gone completely.Sesshoumaru woke with a start. ‘What the hell was that?’ Had that really been his mother? Was she really talking to him from the other side? What had she meant? She said so much, but none of it made any sense. He had tried to read her lips when he couldn’t hear her words, but it didn’t work. Things didn’t line up, as if sound and sight were working at different speeds. He tried to remember everything he heard and spent the next few minutes trying to make any possible sense of it, but he got nowhere.Finally, he looked around and noticed that it was nearly dawn. He had been asleep for much longer than he thought. He pushed the memory of the odd dream out of his mind and instead thought about the miko he missed so much.The whole well thing was really bugging him. Where could the well possibly take her that the mark would be cut off? He could feel the magic in the well, but where could it lead? Where was she really from then? This explained why she had never shown him her home or her family, even when he'd asked.He knew she had come upon his brother by accident, that she had been lost, but nothing more. There had been no mention of her mother and father, or of any siblings, but she had said she had a brother on their flight to return her to the village, so he knew now that she at the very least had one. He wondered why the well was such a secret that she wouldn’t tell him, at least until he remembered that until a short time ago, he had been considered an enemy and even though she now called him a friend, it did not necessarily make her trust him completely.He didn’t know how long it would take her to return, though the monk had said two to three days. He wasn’t sure he could wait that long. Ever since the first moment he gave her his youki, he had been able to, at the very least, feel her presence with him. Now, he was alone, completely and utterly alone. He couldn’t feel her at all, as if she had never been there at all. The lingering scent of her in the clearing was the only reminder of her existence and it just wasn’t enough.While AFF and its agents attempt to remove all illegal works from the site as quickly and thoroughly as possible, there is always the possibility that some submissions may be overlooked or dismissed in error. The AFF system includes a rigorous and complex abuse control system in order to prevent improper use of the AFF service, and we hope that its deployment indicates a good-faith effort to eliminate any illegal material on the site in a fair and unbiased manner. This abuse control system is run in accordance with the strict guidelines specified above.
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