Chapter 7
Lying
on the Tendo's roof, Ranma pondered the past events. Nearly a month had
passed since he'd bumped into Kagome and since then his time after
school and usually through supper time, had been spent at her shrine or
the library, helping her research the spell required and locating the
ingredients needed for his exorcism.
Tonight though she'd asked
that he stay home, saying that she needed to see some people who
wouldn't be willing to see her if he accompanied her. Having met some of
the characters she knew, some of them strangely enough true demons,
kept him from being insulted at her request.
Toutousai, one of the
few remaining craftsmen of demonic weapons had been a particularly
interesting character. Frustrating as hell to talk to, but when he
started to ramble it was mind boggling the information that came pouring
out. No wonder the demon smith rarely made sense and tended to ignore
his surroundings. He had enough trouble keeping track of what was in his
head; let alone what was going on around him.
Then there'd been
the raccoon dog, Hachimon or something. He'd seemed to be nothing more
than an old peddler, but he'd possessed some herbs and objects of other
magical properties that he'd been positive Nabiki would have been able
to sell for a very large fortune. How Kagome had dealt with him had been
the most forceful she'd been yet. Hand it Over, Or get Purified. He had
to admit, it had worked brilliantly.
There was Shiori, who Kagome
had told him was one of the most ancient hanyou living. The presence of
the old bat was awe inspiring, and he wasn't her insulting when he
called her an old bat either, for she was one. She'd agree to
cast the exorcism barrier, for it had been decided a demonic one was
required to insure that the cursed auras within him were not unduly
upset by the exorcism ceremony until it was too late to react.
He
was fascinated by this new world. A world of demons and magic that
Kagome was introducing him into. It felt familiar, like he may have
found what he'd been looking for.
One thing that he'd been
dismayed to learn however was that Saffron, who the Chinese Amazons had
mistakenly called a demi-god was actually just a lowly demon that
nobles, like Shiori ignored unless irritated by their presences and then
they killed them. Shiori had consoled him with the fact that although
he was merely a simple human, and hindered by his multiple curses as he
was, he'd done a remarkable job and had done nothing to be ashamed of.
Sighing,
he shifted his thoughts to how meeting Kagome had begun to change him
personally. It was odd to talk with her in some ways. It felt so natural
and he often found himself telling her more than he usually felt
comfortable talking about. She sympathized with his fiancée plight and
laughed at the numerous antics that those around him constantly indulged
in. Her comments though had also made him see just how childish they
all acted.
His hypocritical old man hyping on and on about 'family
honour' and a 'son's duty to his father.' Well, what about a father's
duty to his son?
Tendo Soun's incessant wailing about the future
of the Tendo School of Martial Arts. He should give it a break already.
His daughters were perfectly capable of carrying on the tradition
themselves.
Akane with her hair trigger temper. So quick to target
him and her continual denial of his innocence when he wasn't at fault.
There might have been a chance of something between them in the very
beginning, but that notion had been bashed, poisoned, and kicked out of
him long ago.
Hibiki Ryoga with his constant and now meaningless
challenges and his claims that it was always him, Ranma, who was the one
at fault. He didn't know whether to hate or admire the bastard for his
persistence. But still, wasn't it time that Ryoga just left him alone?
Kuonji
Ukyo, she was one of the few he could truly call 'friend' but even she
had her faults, especially with this fiancée thing. What she clung to
was nothing more then a wistful dream as substantial as smoke. He wasn't
agreeing to marry anyone.
Shampoo, constantly egged on by her
great-grandmother Cologne, was more of a harassing stalker than anything
else. Didn't those bitches get it yet? He wasn't and never would be
married to Shampoo and he wasn't the old hag's 'son-in-law'.
Kuno
Tatewaki's infatuation with his curse form and his equal hatred of his
true body. And Kodachi was the opposite, infatuated with him and
despised his curse form. Didn't those two get it yet? He was one person!
God damnit! Couldn't they just all give it up? He wasn't a prize to be fought over and won!
"Ranma-kun?" A feminine voice called out cautiously.
Tilting his head back to look at the open trapdoor leading to the roof he was flabbergasted to see of all people, Kasumi standing there.
"Yes Kasumi-san?" Ranma replied, confused by her presence. He rarely saw her outside of the kitchen nowadays.
"Can I come up?" She asked with her customary faint smile.
"Sure," he answered as he sat up and watched her cross the roof cautiously to his side.
Tucking
her skirt beneath her legs the eldest Tendo daughter sat on the
shingles and stared up at the stars for a long moment before beginning.
"You've changed this past month Ranma-kun."
"Wha'dya mean?" He replied warily, instantly closing up.
"You've finally started to grow up."
Ranma frowned, what'd she mean by that? He'd started to grow up? Wasn't he already grown up?
"You've
stopped taking offence at everything everyone says. You've lost your
regular belligerence and are actually nice to people now."
Ranma looked at her guardedly underneath lowered brows. So? What point was she trying to make?
"Your new personality and demeanour is upsetting everyone else."
Why the hell should they be upset? They were always bugging him to 'grow up' anyway.
"Cause you see Ranma-kun, you've grown up and they haven't." Kasumi replied simply as she finally looked at him.
Ranma blinked, not really understanding what she was trying to tell him.
"You've
changed and in a way surpassed them. They're still stuck in their own
worlds that revolve around them and what they want, and they don't know
how to deal with this change in you."
Oh, so maybe that was why
everyone seemed to be getting more violent lately. He though it was
because he wasn't home during the evenings anymore.
"Oh don't be
mistaken, they're upset not only about the change in you but the change
in your habits as well. When attending school you don't goof off
anymore, you're actually paying attention in class and making better
grades. The only phone calls we've gotten this month about you are from
the teachers who are wondering what's happened to you, not phoning to
complain. Nabiki said she also saw you going into the library one day."
So what? It was just a library. He'd needed to research some stuff for his exorcism.
"You
also still fight when really pissed off, and still beat them, but
you're not using any new techniques like they thought you were learning
all those times you disappeared. And not being able to find you like
they regularly could before really makes them angry. And that anger is
feeding their fear."
"Fear of what?" Ranma finally asked cautiously.
"Fear
of losing you." Kasumi replied simply, "Because when you finish growing
up, they won't be able to hold onto you anymore. You will have outgrown
all of their petty arguments, all their petty fighting. And they'll be
forced to realize just how very childish and foolish they have been."
"Sealed Past" Ch. 6 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]
Chapter 6
Kagome looked up the broad steps leading to the local library with amusement as she watched Ranma pace back and forth beside the doors. "Looks like you were right Souta; he's never been to the library before."
Souta merely grinned with evident satisfaction at winning their personal bet.
"I'll see you at home tonight, and remember to tell Mama that I may be late."
"'Kay, see ya later." Souta gave a nod of acknowledgement before continuing on his way.
Kagome mounted the steps and smiled in greeting to the agitated teen that waited for her. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Yeah, well…" Ranma mumbled as he scuffed a foot against the ground.
"Come on, what we're going to be doing is researching traditional Shinto exorcism methods. Hopefully we'll find something that will work, and if we don't we will have to look for other, less conventional methods." Kagome explained as they entered the library.
"Um, if you're a priestess, why do we have to do this? Can't you just get rid of them?" Ranma asked as he warily looked at the shelves upon shelves of books before him.
"Yes, I am a trained priestess, and I could 'just get rid of them', but it would be a really bad idea. I haven't performed many exorcisms and they're a rather delicate spell to do properly." She replied, running her fingers across book bindings, browsing through the titles.
"How's that?" He asked curiously as she began to load books into his arms.
"Um… how to explain this… Performing an exorcism without proper preparation is like performing a surgery with a chainsaw instead of a scalpel."
"Ouch," Ranma winced at the comparison.
"Yes, definitely, ouch. To compound the problem further, I'm used to performing purifications, which is definite chainsaw work."
"What?"
"All purification requires is a blast of power that eradicates everything." She answered, placing one last book onto the pile before moving towards the tables.
"Ah."
Kagome chuckled at his expression as she gestured for him to put down the books and have a seat. "Don't worry. I have no intention of blasting you anytime soon, which is why we have to do research."
. . .
With a growl of frustration Ranma shoved the book away from him, complaining. "This guy doesn't make sense!"
"Who's it by?" Kagome asked idly as she continued to scan the book she held. Within twenty minutes she'd been able to tell that not only had her younger companion never been in the library, he didn't read much and hadn't developed the ability to skim read. A useful technique most students developed when their course load was text heavy.
But they had time, and she expected to read all the books herself, so she wasn't too upset about his slow reading. She'd brought him to help him feel involved anyway, not because she was expecting much assistance with the research.
"Some old woman that claims to be a bat," Ranma said with disgust, reading the short biography provided in the back.
"Is her name Shiori?"
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"She is one."
"She's one what?" Ranma asked in confusion.
"She is a bat," Kagome said as she finally looked up at him, "A bat demon to be more precise."
"A bat demon?" He replied with a blink.
"What, did you think that the only demons are dragons, like the one whose whisker you swallowed? Our history is full of the mythology of fox demons, raccoon dog demons, and other demonic creatures. What's so strange about other animals also having demon counterparts?"
Ranma shrugged. "Don't know, never really though about it."
"Well start thinking about it. These books are ones that are publicly acceptable, meaning that the materials have been carefully edited by demon publishers or written by quacks with no genuine credentials. There are others in private collections that we will be researching that are real, written by demons and spell-casters, and dangerously powerful if they were ever found by a 'normal' human."
"Dangerous?"
"Let's just say they contain truths that humanity would be unable to accept."
"Oh…"
"But enough of that, it's getting late and I still have to write an essay so I'll see you here tomorrow as at the same time?"
"Yeah, sure." Ranma replied with an unconcerned shrug, frowning slightly as he remembered his own pile of schoolwork.
"You got homework to?" She asked curiously, stacking the books.
He nodded warily; hoping she wouldn't nag him like his fiancée's did about getting it done on time.
"Bring it next time and we'll take a break from researching to get some done." Kagome suggested.
Ranma grimaced with distaste. He really didn't want to do any homework. Where was the point? In math they were doing proofs, and what was the point of proving something that they already knew was true?
She eyed his repulsed expression and guessed that schoolwork was not one of his favourite things. "I've always though of schoolwork like this. You only have to do it once, so you might as well do it well, and never have to do it again. You may say 'What's the point?' for some stuff. But what's the point in repeating an assignment, let alone a grade?"
"Huh," Ranma grunted. He'd never though of it like that before.
Kagome looked up the broad steps leading to the local library with amusement as she watched Ranma pace back and forth beside the doors. "Looks like you were right Souta; he's never been to the library before."
Souta merely grinned with evident satisfaction at winning their personal bet.
"I'll see you at home tonight, and remember to tell Mama that I may be late."
"'Kay, see ya later." Souta gave a nod of acknowledgement before continuing on his way.
Kagome mounted the steps and smiled in greeting to the agitated teen that waited for her. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Yeah, well…" Ranma mumbled as he scuffed a foot against the ground.
"Come on, what we're going to be doing is researching traditional Shinto exorcism methods. Hopefully we'll find something that will work, and if we don't we will have to look for other, less conventional methods." Kagome explained as they entered the library.
"Um, if you're a priestess, why do we have to do this? Can't you just get rid of them?" Ranma asked as he warily looked at the shelves upon shelves of books before him.
"Yes, I am a trained priestess, and I could 'just get rid of them', but it would be a really bad idea. I haven't performed many exorcisms and they're a rather delicate spell to do properly." She replied, running her fingers across book bindings, browsing through the titles.
"How's that?" He asked curiously as she began to load books into his arms.
"Um… how to explain this… Performing an exorcism without proper preparation is like performing a surgery with a chainsaw instead of a scalpel."
"Ouch," Ranma winced at the comparison.
"Yes, definitely, ouch. To compound the problem further, I'm used to performing purifications, which is definite chainsaw work."
"What?"
"All purification requires is a blast of power that eradicates everything." She answered, placing one last book onto the pile before moving towards the tables.
"Ah."
Kagome chuckled at his expression as she gestured for him to put down the books and have a seat. "Don't worry. I have no intention of blasting you anytime soon, which is why we have to do research."
. . .
With a growl of frustration Ranma shoved the book away from him, complaining. "This guy doesn't make sense!"
"Who's it by?" Kagome asked idly as she continued to scan the book she held. Within twenty minutes she'd been able to tell that not only had her younger companion never been in the library, he didn't read much and hadn't developed the ability to skim read. A useful technique most students developed when their course load was text heavy.
But they had time, and she expected to read all the books herself, so she wasn't too upset about his slow reading. She'd brought him to help him feel involved anyway, not because she was expecting much assistance with the research.
"Some old woman that claims to be a bat," Ranma said with disgust, reading the short biography provided in the back.
"Is her name Shiori?"
"Yes, how'd you know?"
"She is one."
"She's one what?" Ranma asked in confusion.
"She is a bat," Kagome said as she finally looked up at him, "A bat demon to be more precise."
"A bat demon?" He replied with a blink.
"What, did you think that the only demons are dragons, like the one whose whisker you swallowed? Our history is full of the mythology of fox demons, raccoon dog demons, and other demonic creatures. What's so strange about other animals also having demon counterparts?"
Ranma shrugged. "Don't know, never really though about it."
"Well start thinking about it. These books are ones that are publicly acceptable, meaning that the materials have been carefully edited by demon publishers or written by quacks with no genuine credentials. There are others in private collections that we will be researching that are real, written by demons and spell-casters, and dangerously powerful if they were ever found by a 'normal' human."
"Dangerous?"
"Let's just say they contain truths that humanity would be unable to accept."
"Oh…"
"But enough of that, it's getting late and I still have to write an essay so I'll see you here tomorrow as at the same time?"
"Yeah, sure." Ranma replied with an unconcerned shrug, frowning slightly as he remembered his own pile of schoolwork.
"You got homework to?" She asked curiously, stacking the books.
He nodded warily; hoping she wouldn't nag him like his fiancée's did about getting it done on time.
"Bring it next time and we'll take a break from researching to get some done." Kagome suggested.
Ranma grimaced with distaste. He really didn't want to do any homework. Where was the point? In math they were doing proofs, and what was the point of proving something that they already knew was true?
She eyed his repulsed expression and guessed that schoolwork was not one of his favourite things. "I've always though of schoolwork like this. You only have to do it once, so you might as well do it well, and never have to do it again. You may say 'What's the point?' for some stuff. But what's the point in repeating an assignment, let alone a grade?"
"Huh," Ranma grunted. He'd never though of it like that before.
"Sealed Past" Ch. 5 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]
Chapter 5
Nabiki watched with curiosity well honed by her mercenary tendencies as Ranma left the school after the final bell had rung. Making his way not towards her family dojo as was customary but somewhere else in the city.
Last night he'd returned home at an unusually late hour and even refused the meal that Kasumi had saved for him, saying that he'd take it for his lunch tomorrow instead. Something was up. The Ranma she knew would never refuse food, especially not food that Kasumi had made.
There'd also been his personality last night. He'd seemed distant and preoccupied. He hadn't even gotten into a fight with Akane like usual. Although he'd been just as rowdy and annoying as ever this morning, using Kuno as his usual spring-board, somehow he also seemed tense with anticipation, like he couldn't wait for something to happen.
Had Ranma perhaps found a new opponent? It was the only thing at the moment that she could think of to explain his excitement. For it was only during a fight that he was as tense and excited as he'd been throughout the day.
. . .
Ranma knocked upon the entrance to the Higurashi house with a mixture of excitement and dread bubbling in his blood. He didn't know whether to be relieved or even more worried when Kagome opened the door wearing the traditional scarlet and white garments of a Shinto shrine maiden.
Kagome smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about a thing, you won't feel anything. Come on," she said as she made her way past him to the shrine to perform the reading.
He hesitated in the shrine's entrance, a sense of power itching across his skin. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he entered the shrine, like the Tendo Dojo the floor was polished wood but there the similarity ended. There was an aura of hushed reverence about him and ancient style wick lanterns rested on their bamboo stands along the walls. Against the far wall was a traditional Shinto altar with sticks of incense already burning.
Kagome had seated herself with her back to the altar, facing the doorway and thus him. "It's alright just take a seat in front of me and relax. All you have to do is breathe, I'll have to do the work."
Stepping forward he did as she bid, settling in a comfortable position. He watched curiously as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then exhaled. She seemed almost to freeze suddenly as she breathed out, as if she had simply turned into a statue.
. . .
Using her third eye Kagome studied the young man's jumble of auras with growing disgust. What the hell had he done to himself? This wasn't simply a Jusenkyo Curse as her Chinese informant had told her when she'd contacted her about it. The woman had been very specific about what it looked like and how best to exorcise it. This was a cluttered mass of… something else.
She read deeper. Now, that was the Jusenkyo Curse, definitely feminine and ill-fitting. That had to be his natural aura, masculine and natural feeling and these others…. Was that the taint of cat demons? And there, almost so faint it was only a hair of magic, the touch of a dragon demon.
What in the gods' names had he been doing? What's more, although they were separate things, they'd been in him so long that they'd started to weave themselves together. It was a good thing that she'd found him now. Who knew what condition he would have been in a few years from now? It would have probably taken a purification and not an exorcism to undo all the damage.
. . .
Ranma was startled out of his wits when Kagome's eyes flew open and she glared at him.
"What in bloody hell have you done to yourself?" She demanded angrily. "You don't just simply have a Jusenkyo Curse, but the cursed touch of a cat and dragon demon."
"What do you mean?"
"Everything's mixed up, like a cake for baking. If I'm going to get rid of one thing, I'm going to have to get rid of everything."
"You can?" He asked eagerly.
"Aye, but I have to know what I'm dealing with first." Kagome admitted with another glare, thoroughly disgusted with him. Didn't people know that even the best can't work properly if they don't know what they have to work with?
"Well… the cat demon you mentioned might it be the Neko-ken(1) training I received when I was a child?"
"You received training meant for demons when you were a child?"
"Yes, my old man instructed me in it."
Kagome's eyes narrowed, "Tell me. Are you afraid of cats?"
"Yes," he admitted.
Her eyes were almost completely slitted in outrage. "So not only did you receive training meant only for demons but it is incomplete! Good god, what was your father thinking? No don't answer that," she held up a hand to forestall his reply, "Something tells me I don't want to know."
"What do you mean demon training?" Ranma asked inquisitively.
"The Neko-ken was designed by and for cat demons. It is not meant to be learned by humans, I suspect the only reason you did survive is because you were unfortunately a child at that time, meaning that your mind and body were able to adapt to the demonic energy the technique produces."
"How do you know so much about demons?"
"They're a specialty of mine. Now tell me about the faint touch of dragon demon I can sense in you."
"I accidentally ate the whisker from a dragon."
"Oh…" she sighed, pressing a fist to her forehead, "And what does it do?"
Ranma pulled his pigtail to the side, "It makes my hair grow really long, really fast and the only reason it's not growing right now is because its magic is being countered by another dragon whisker I'm using to tie it."
Kagome let lose a long, aggravated groan as her head slumped forward into her hands and moaned. "This is going to take longer than I thought. Give me demons to purify any day, they're less demanding.
Footnotes:
(1) Neko-ken: lit. "Cat-Fist," is the result of Genma's insensitive training when Ranma was a child. Ranma has an extreme fear of cats. If he is around cats long enough, he begins to act just like one as a way to cope. Ranma is very powerful while in this state and is able to shred objects with his bare hands. He can also be quite playful. This resulted in his and Akane's first kiss. (Cited from "Ranma ½: Perfect Edition.")
Nabiki watched with curiosity well honed by her mercenary tendencies as Ranma left the school after the final bell had rung. Making his way not towards her family dojo as was customary but somewhere else in the city.
Last night he'd returned home at an unusually late hour and even refused the meal that Kasumi had saved for him, saying that he'd take it for his lunch tomorrow instead. Something was up. The Ranma she knew would never refuse food, especially not food that Kasumi had made.
There'd also been his personality last night. He'd seemed distant and preoccupied. He hadn't even gotten into a fight with Akane like usual. Although he'd been just as rowdy and annoying as ever this morning, using Kuno as his usual spring-board, somehow he also seemed tense with anticipation, like he couldn't wait for something to happen.
Had Ranma perhaps found a new opponent? It was the only thing at the moment that she could think of to explain his excitement. For it was only during a fight that he was as tense and excited as he'd been throughout the day.
. . .
Ranma knocked upon the entrance to the Higurashi house with a mixture of excitement and dread bubbling in his blood. He didn't know whether to be relieved or even more worried when Kagome opened the door wearing the traditional scarlet and white garments of a Shinto shrine maiden.
Kagome smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry about a thing, you won't feel anything. Come on," she said as she made her way past him to the shrine to perform the reading.
He hesitated in the shrine's entrance, a sense of power itching across his skin. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he entered the shrine, like the Tendo Dojo the floor was polished wood but there the similarity ended. There was an aura of hushed reverence about him and ancient style wick lanterns rested on their bamboo stands along the walls. Against the far wall was a traditional Shinto altar with sticks of incense already burning.
Kagome had seated herself with her back to the altar, facing the doorway and thus him. "It's alright just take a seat in front of me and relax. All you have to do is breathe, I'll have to do the work."
Stepping forward he did as she bid, settling in a comfortable position. He watched curiously as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then exhaled. She seemed almost to freeze suddenly as she breathed out, as if she had simply turned into a statue.
. . .
Using her third eye Kagome studied the young man's jumble of auras with growing disgust. What the hell had he done to himself? This wasn't simply a Jusenkyo Curse as her Chinese informant had told her when she'd contacted her about it. The woman had been very specific about what it looked like and how best to exorcise it. This was a cluttered mass of… something else.
She read deeper. Now, that was the Jusenkyo Curse, definitely feminine and ill-fitting. That had to be his natural aura, masculine and natural feeling and these others…. Was that the taint of cat demons? And there, almost so faint it was only a hair of magic, the touch of a dragon demon.
What in the gods' names had he been doing? What's more, although they were separate things, they'd been in him so long that they'd started to weave themselves together. It was a good thing that she'd found him now. Who knew what condition he would have been in a few years from now? It would have probably taken a purification and not an exorcism to undo all the damage.
. . .
Ranma was startled out of his wits when Kagome's eyes flew open and she glared at him.
"What in bloody hell have you done to yourself?" She demanded angrily. "You don't just simply have a Jusenkyo Curse, but the cursed touch of a cat and dragon demon."
"What do you mean?"
"Everything's mixed up, like a cake for baking. If I'm going to get rid of one thing, I'm going to have to get rid of everything."
"You can?" He asked eagerly.
"Aye, but I have to know what I'm dealing with first." Kagome admitted with another glare, thoroughly disgusted with him. Didn't people know that even the best can't work properly if they don't know what they have to work with?
"Well… the cat demon you mentioned might it be the Neko-ken(1) training I received when I was a child?"
"You received training meant for demons when you were a child?"
"Yes, my old man instructed me in it."
Kagome's eyes narrowed, "Tell me. Are you afraid of cats?"
"Yes," he admitted.
Her eyes were almost completely slitted in outrage. "So not only did you receive training meant only for demons but it is incomplete! Good god, what was your father thinking? No don't answer that," she held up a hand to forestall his reply, "Something tells me I don't want to know."
"What do you mean demon training?" Ranma asked inquisitively.
"The Neko-ken was designed by and for cat demons. It is not meant to be learned by humans, I suspect the only reason you did survive is because you were unfortunately a child at that time, meaning that your mind and body were able to adapt to the demonic energy the technique produces."
"How do you know so much about demons?"
"They're a specialty of mine. Now tell me about the faint touch of dragon demon I can sense in you."
"I accidentally ate the whisker from a dragon."
"Oh…" she sighed, pressing a fist to her forehead, "And what does it do?"
Ranma pulled his pigtail to the side, "It makes my hair grow really long, really fast and the only reason it's not growing right now is because its magic is being countered by another dragon whisker I'm using to tie it."
Kagome let lose a long, aggravated groan as her head slumped forward into her hands and moaned. "This is going to take longer than I thought. Give me demons to purify any day, they're less demanding.
Footnotes:
(1) Neko-ken: lit. "Cat-Fist," is the result of Genma's insensitive training when Ranma was a child. Ranma has an extreme fear of cats. If he is around cats long enough, he begins to act just like one as a way to cope. Ranma is very powerful while in this state and is able to shred objects with his bare hands. He can also be quite playful. This resulted in his and Akane's first kiss. (Cited from "Ranma ½: Perfect Edition.")
"Sealed Past" Ch. 4 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]
Chapter 4
Sliding another glance at her nervous and unexpected guest Kagome sighed, guessing what was really bothering him. "You can quit fidgeting you know," she said with amusement, watching as he started, "It's just the shrine's aura reacting with your curse."
"Curse?" He blurted out in surprise.
Kagome blinked and gave him a hard look, "You can't possibly tell me that you don't know you have a curse. It's strong enough that even my grandpa would be able to feel it, and his powers are nil."
"How can you tell?" He sounded surprisingly desperate.
"You're lit up like a beacon. Now admittedly someone with a strong spiritual aura would also have a strong inner light, like you, but yours is just… wrong." Kagome admitted. Thoughtfully she studied the young man, sensing that her frank speaking regarding 'curses' and the like was something that he was not unfamiliar with.
"Wrong how?" He asked curiously, wondering just what this stranger knew.
Kagome shrugged as she faced the stove, "Your colours are not natural and the aura vibrations that it's giving off feel all negative. I believe you might call it 'bad vibes.' How long have you had it? It's quite powerful, so I'm guessing a while."
Ranma shrugged, "A few years."
"A few years!" Kagome shrieked in surprise as she whirled to face him, "Why haven't you had it exorcised?"
"Exorcised?" He blinked stupidly.
"Don't tell me you don't know what exorcism is?"
Ranma shook his head.
"Argh! They don't teach kids anything in school any more!" She wailed in complaint as she turned back to her cooking.
A voice snorted. Turning Ranma saw a young man, about his age leaning against the kitchen doorway. Brown haired and eyed, wearing a dark blue uniform with the insigne of a private school on the breast pocket and shoulders, he didn't really have the appearance of an intellect but neither did he appear to be a fighter.
"Sis, not everyone's had the same education you've had."
"I know," the woman replied crossly, "But you'd at least think they'd listen to their elders!"
The teenager gave another snort of disgust as he shook his head at his sister's incomprehension. "Hi, I'm Higurashi Souta," he greeted holding his hand out.
Ranma shook it and replied, "Saotome Ranma."
"How'd you meet Kagome-chan?"
"We bumped into each other and when I forgot my purse he returned it to me." Kagome said shortly as she eyed her younger brother, who held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "Besides he's got a curse on him."
"Ah." Souta said with growing understanding, "Did he come for an exorcism?"
"He doesn't even know what a damn exorcism is!" Kagome snapped, ladling supper into bowls. "You explain it to him."
Souta blinked as he accepted his meal. "Okay." Turning to Saotome he simply said, "Exorcism is a fancy word they use that means to get rid of a curse."
Ranma dropped his bowl in shock, nearly spilling it all over himself, before steadying the container. "You can get rid of it?" His voice was squeaky.
"I can't," Souta said with irritation as he jerked his thumb at his chest before pointing to his sister. "But she can."
"H-how?" Ranma sputtered.
"I'm a Shinto priestess and part of my duties and abilities is purification. Curses fall under that category." Kagome explained simply as she paused in her eating before questioning. "What exactly is your curse anyway?"
"Do you really have to know?" Ranma asked warily.
"I do if I'm going to exorcise it." Kagome replied with amusement.
Ranma flushed red as he stared at the table before mumbling his answer.
"What!" Both siblings exclaimed in unison, looked at each other and then back at their guest.
"I think you'd better begin at the beginning." Kagome instructed, as she set her bowl aside and pulled out a pad and paper to begin taking notes. Something told her that this was going to take time, careful planning, and a whole lot of holy powers to complete.
. . .
Kagome leaned back and studied the young man before her in a mixture of amusement and confusion. "Okay, so let me see if I've got this right. You fell into a spring that was cursed and now whenever you're splashed by cold water you turn into a girl. When you're splashed by hot water you turn back into a guy."
"There is also a spring that could permanently turn you back into a guy but some guy named Saffron flooded the springs and mixed up the waters and now no one knows where the spring that has your cure is."
Ranma nodded in agreement as he sipped some juice. "So can you help me?"
"I'll have to do a deeper reading and some research before I begin, but yes, I do believe I can help you." Kagome said decisively as she flipped her notebook closed.
"Thank you," Ranma breathed reverently as he dropped his head into his hands. He could finally get rid of this blasted curse. He'd lived with it so long that it almost seemed unreal that it'd soon be gone.
"Don't thank me yet," Kagome said kingly, "Not until the exorcism is complete that is. I'd like you to come back tomorrow after school for the reading."
"Reading?" Ranma questioned curiously.
"Well… it's where I perform a small spell to help me see your auras more clearly. I can see them now, but it's all mixed up together. The spell will help me understand everything more clearly. You see, a curse is usually a spell that draws bad luck towards people. It doesn't change them physically. Your curse is almost like a possession, but it's also not, because a possession is where another soul tries or does take possession of another soul's form. When the curse is activated your physical body changes but not your character, you are from what you tell me, just yourself in a woman's body. A most unusual occurrence."
Ranma grimaced. Well—that was one way to describe it. Standing he gave his thanks to the Higurashi family and left their residence. As twilight slowly descended, he made his way down the stone staircase deep in though.
Should he tell the others about this? Especially those who were cursed as well? Something made him hesitate. He knew it was his family duty to his old man and also his duty to fellow martial arts practitioners. But he just didn't feel like telling anyone about the Higurashi's. There was something special about them that he didn't want the others to spoil. Maybe after his curse was removed he'd tell them then. Maybe.
Sliding another glance at her nervous and unexpected guest Kagome sighed, guessing what was really bothering him. "You can quit fidgeting you know," she said with amusement, watching as he started, "It's just the shrine's aura reacting with your curse."
"Curse?" He blurted out in surprise.
Kagome blinked and gave him a hard look, "You can't possibly tell me that you don't know you have a curse. It's strong enough that even my grandpa would be able to feel it, and his powers are nil."
"How can you tell?" He sounded surprisingly desperate.
"You're lit up like a beacon. Now admittedly someone with a strong spiritual aura would also have a strong inner light, like you, but yours is just… wrong." Kagome admitted. Thoughtfully she studied the young man, sensing that her frank speaking regarding 'curses' and the like was something that he was not unfamiliar with.
"Wrong how?" He asked curiously, wondering just what this stranger knew.
Kagome shrugged as she faced the stove, "Your colours are not natural and the aura vibrations that it's giving off feel all negative. I believe you might call it 'bad vibes.' How long have you had it? It's quite powerful, so I'm guessing a while."
Ranma shrugged, "A few years."
"A few years!" Kagome shrieked in surprise as she whirled to face him, "Why haven't you had it exorcised?"
"Exorcised?" He blinked stupidly.
"Don't tell me you don't know what exorcism is?"
Ranma shook his head.
"Argh! They don't teach kids anything in school any more!" She wailed in complaint as she turned back to her cooking.
A voice snorted. Turning Ranma saw a young man, about his age leaning against the kitchen doorway. Brown haired and eyed, wearing a dark blue uniform with the insigne of a private school on the breast pocket and shoulders, he didn't really have the appearance of an intellect but neither did he appear to be a fighter.
"Sis, not everyone's had the same education you've had."
"I know," the woman replied crossly, "But you'd at least think they'd listen to their elders!"
The teenager gave another snort of disgust as he shook his head at his sister's incomprehension. "Hi, I'm Higurashi Souta," he greeted holding his hand out.
Ranma shook it and replied, "Saotome Ranma."
"How'd you meet Kagome-chan?"
"We bumped into each other and when I forgot my purse he returned it to me." Kagome said shortly as she eyed her younger brother, who held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "Besides he's got a curse on him."
"Ah." Souta said with growing understanding, "Did he come for an exorcism?"
"He doesn't even know what a damn exorcism is!" Kagome snapped, ladling supper into bowls. "You explain it to him."
Souta blinked as he accepted his meal. "Okay." Turning to Saotome he simply said, "Exorcism is a fancy word they use that means to get rid of a curse."
Ranma dropped his bowl in shock, nearly spilling it all over himself, before steadying the container. "You can get rid of it?" His voice was squeaky.
"I can't," Souta said with irritation as he jerked his thumb at his chest before pointing to his sister. "But she can."
"H-how?" Ranma sputtered.
"I'm a Shinto priestess and part of my duties and abilities is purification. Curses fall under that category." Kagome explained simply as she paused in her eating before questioning. "What exactly is your curse anyway?"
"Do you really have to know?" Ranma asked warily.
"I do if I'm going to exorcise it." Kagome replied with amusement.
Ranma flushed red as he stared at the table before mumbling his answer.
"What!" Both siblings exclaimed in unison, looked at each other and then back at their guest.
"I think you'd better begin at the beginning." Kagome instructed, as she set her bowl aside and pulled out a pad and paper to begin taking notes. Something told her that this was going to take time, careful planning, and a whole lot of holy powers to complete.
. . .
Kagome leaned back and studied the young man before her in a mixture of amusement and confusion. "Okay, so let me see if I've got this right. You fell into a spring that was cursed and now whenever you're splashed by cold water you turn into a girl. When you're splashed by hot water you turn back into a guy."
"There is also a spring that could permanently turn you back into a guy but some guy named Saffron flooded the springs and mixed up the waters and now no one knows where the spring that has your cure is."
Ranma nodded in agreement as he sipped some juice. "So can you help me?"
"I'll have to do a deeper reading and some research before I begin, but yes, I do believe I can help you." Kagome said decisively as she flipped her notebook closed.
"Thank you," Ranma breathed reverently as he dropped his head into his hands. He could finally get rid of this blasted curse. He'd lived with it so long that it almost seemed unreal that it'd soon be gone.
"Don't thank me yet," Kagome said kingly, "Not until the exorcism is complete that is. I'd like you to come back tomorrow after school for the reading."
"Reading?" Ranma questioned curiously.
"Well… it's where I perform a small spell to help me see your auras more clearly. I can see them now, but it's all mixed up together. The spell will help me understand everything more clearly. You see, a curse is usually a spell that draws bad luck towards people. It doesn't change them physically. Your curse is almost like a possession, but it's also not, because a possession is where another soul tries or does take possession of another soul's form. When the curse is activated your physical body changes but not your character, you are from what you tell me, just yourself in a woman's body. A most unusual occurrence."
Ranma grimaced. Well—that was one way to describe it. Standing he gave his thanks to the Higurashi family and left their residence. As twilight slowly descended, he made his way down the stone staircase deep in though.
Should he tell the others about this? Especially those who were cursed as well? Something made him hesitate. He knew it was his family duty to his old man and also his duty to fellow martial arts practitioners. But he just didn't feel like telling anyone about the Higurashi's. There was something special about them that he didn't want the others to spoil. Maybe after his curse was removed he'd tell them then. Maybe.
"Sealed Past" Ch. 3 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]
Chapter 3
"Damn kids." Kagome muttered angrily, picking her way through the wreckage in the local street market. She gave an aggravated sigh of disgust as she flipped raven coloured hair over her shoulder. "They were here again?" She sympathetically said to a fruit vender as she paused to help him pick up his scattered produce.
"Yes, it was those cursed Nerima Wrecking Crew(1)!" The man growled in angry frustration as he straightened his signs. "It doesn't matter what we do, those brats just won't stop! They're always fighting and never take into consideration what's in their path! It doesn't matter what it is. If it's in their way they just destroy it trying to kill each other!"
Kagome continued to nod in sympathy as she listened to him rant, privately wondering if perhaps it was time to invite her son home for the up-coming summer holidays. He could help clean this matter up.
"Thanks for listening to my troubles Higurashi-san." The vendor finally said as they got the last of the mess straightened and her weekly purchases had been made.
"It's no trouble at all. I'd like to get my hands on them myself." She replied with a warm smile.
"Wouldn't we all, wouldn't we all."
Chuckling at his response she picked up her bag and made her way to the next vendor's stall to help clean up and make her grocery purchases.
. . .
Slouched with his hands in his pockets, Ranma kicked the can in front of him as he made his way down the street. He was getting sick and tired of day in and day out the same old thing happening. Fighting, yelling, and trying to mediate between his three 'fiancées.'
God damnit, why'd the old bastard have to sell him off to half the Eastern world anyway? He was feeling more and more restless. Like there was something he could do or was suppose to do, but he just didn't know what it was. For a time, fighting with Saffron had seemed like the answer but now he knew that it was something else out there. Something else that would satisfy this restless discontent.
Kicking the can again he rounded a corner and gave an "Oomph!" of surprise as he ran into someone and was knocked nearly off his feet. The other person gave a similar sound of surprise as they were knocked to the ground, scattering the contents of the bags she'd been carrying.
"I'm sorry miss," Ranma said automatically as he dropped to the street to help her repack her bags.
"That's alright," she replied with an embarrassed laugh and smile, "I wasn't looking where I was going either." The groceries finally gathered and repacked they stood and eyed each other curiously.
He was briefly surprised to realise that this woman whose head just brushed the top of his chin, would have been as tall as he was months ago before the Saffron incident. Wearing a soft green turtleneck that hugged her torso and legs encased in form fitting jeans, her face was not stunningly attractive, but had a quiet beauty like Kasumi's with warm brown eyes.
Tilting her head back she in turn studied the young man wearing black kung-fu pants and a Chinese style red shirt. Tall and broad shouldered, he was almost a man, his face well defined and strong with his strength of character. His grey eyes also showed the strength of will and determination, and seemed to also hold a wealth of experiences.
"Thank-you for your help," she said softly with a bow of her head, "But if you'll excuse me I've got hungry mouths at home to feed."
"Of course," Ranma replied with a touch of shared embarrassment, "And once again I'm sorry for knocking you down."
Smiling again she gave another bow of the head and disappeared around the corner.
For long moments Ranma stood on the sidewalk, still confused by the incident. Oh, he'd been interested in girls before, but none had quite the effect on him like that woman had. Like there was something surreal about her. Staring at his feet he tried to figure it out. He blinked when he realized that he was staring at the woman's purse.
"Shit!" He swore aloud, it must have fallen out of the woman's pocket when she'd fallen. Picking the purse up he dropped it into the back pocket of his pants. If he hurried he might be able to catch up with her.
Turning around and jogging down the street he tried to spot the woman again. There she was he realized in relief as she walked around another corner. Picking up the pace, he dashed forward and rounded the same corner. She was already half way down the sidewalk, breaking into a run he yelled after her. "Excuse me Miss, but you dropped your purse!"
The woman paused in mid-stride and then turned around, allowing him to close the distance between them. "You forgot your purse." He said again as he dug it out and held it out to her.
"Oh! Thank you again. It was very kind of you to return it. Please let me repay you."
Ranma merely shook his head. He didn't really want any payment.
"But I insist, come in and at least let me give you a thank you meal."
"Come in?" Ranma asked puzzled as he glanced about. This side of the street was a steep hill thickly carpeted in trees.
"Yes, my family's shrine is just up ahead." She said, gesturing to the massive staircase in the hillside crowned by a Shinto torii(2).
Ranma's eyes nearly bulged out, she lived up there? Nodding in agreement to appease his sudden curiosity, he followed her to the foot of the staircase. "Just how many steps are there?"
"Ah… four-hundred ninety-nine, there use to be five hundred many years ago but when the city put the sidewalk in one of the stone steps was covered by the concrete."
. . .
Finally reaching the top, Ranma had to stop to catch his breath as he noticed with embarrassment that the woman wasn't even winded. He needed to put more stairs exercises into his fitness regime. The shrine grounds were large and elegantly kept, a sacred tree rose high above its neighbours, to one side was a small shrine house with its doors shut, to the other was a much larger temple. Away from them was a rather modern looking house.
"Could you get the door for me?" She asked once they reached the house. Nodding Ranma did as she asked, surprise that something that usually made him angry when Akane or one of the others asked him do it didn't bother him now.
"Oh, how silly of me," she said with laugh, "I haven't even introduced myself, I'm Higurashi Kagome."
"Saotome Ranma," he replied.
"Please to meet you Saotome-kun, right this way into the kitchen." Dropping the bags onto the counter, she made short work of the groceries and was soon moving about the kitchen making dinner as Ranma watched with a growing feeling of discomfort.
Footnotes:
(1) Nerima Wrecking Crew: term that Ranma and company have been christen with as they reside within the Nerima Ward of Tokyo
(2) Torii: n. shrine gate
"Damn kids." Kagome muttered angrily, picking her way through the wreckage in the local street market. She gave an aggravated sigh of disgust as she flipped raven coloured hair over her shoulder. "They were here again?" She sympathetically said to a fruit vender as she paused to help him pick up his scattered produce.
"Yes, it was those cursed Nerima Wrecking Crew(1)!" The man growled in angry frustration as he straightened his signs. "It doesn't matter what we do, those brats just won't stop! They're always fighting and never take into consideration what's in their path! It doesn't matter what it is. If it's in their way they just destroy it trying to kill each other!"
Kagome continued to nod in sympathy as she listened to him rant, privately wondering if perhaps it was time to invite her son home for the up-coming summer holidays. He could help clean this matter up.
"Thanks for listening to my troubles Higurashi-san." The vendor finally said as they got the last of the mess straightened and her weekly purchases had been made.
"It's no trouble at all. I'd like to get my hands on them myself." She replied with a warm smile.
"Wouldn't we all, wouldn't we all."
Chuckling at his response she picked up her bag and made her way to the next vendor's stall to help clean up and make her grocery purchases.
. . .
Slouched with his hands in his pockets, Ranma kicked the can in front of him as he made his way down the street. He was getting sick and tired of day in and day out the same old thing happening. Fighting, yelling, and trying to mediate between his three 'fiancées.'
God damnit, why'd the old bastard have to sell him off to half the Eastern world anyway? He was feeling more and more restless. Like there was something he could do or was suppose to do, but he just didn't know what it was. For a time, fighting with Saffron had seemed like the answer but now he knew that it was something else out there. Something else that would satisfy this restless discontent.
Kicking the can again he rounded a corner and gave an "Oomph!" of surprise as he ran into someone and was knocked nearly off his feet. The other person gave a similar sound of surprise as they were knocked to the ground, scattering the contents of the bags she'd been carrying.
"I'm sorry miss," Ranma said automatically as he dropped to the street to help her repack her bags.
"That's alright," she replied with an embarrassed laugh and smile, "I wasn't looking where I was going either." The groceries finally gathered and repacked they stood and eyed each other curiously.
He was briefly surprised to realise that this woman whose head just brushed the top of his chin, would have been as tall as he was months ago before the Saffron incident. Wearing a soft green turtleneck that hugged her torso and legs encased in form fitting jeans, her face was not stunningly attractive, but had a quiet beauty like Kasumi's with warm brown eyes.
Tilting her head back she in turn studied the young man wearing black kung-fu pants and a Chinese style red shirt. Tall and broad shouldered, he was almost a man, his face well defined and strong with his strength of character. His grey eyes also showed the strength of will and determination, and seemed to also hold a wealth of experiences.
"Thank-you for your help," she said softly with a bow of her head, "But if you'll excuse me I've got hungry mouths at home to feed."
"Of course," Ranma replied with a touch of shared embarrassment, "And once again I'm sorry for knocking you down."
Smiling again she gave another bow of the head and disappeared around the corner.
For long moments Ranma stood on the sidewalk, still confused by the incident. Oh, he'd been interested in girls before, but none had quite the effect on him like that woman had. Like there was something surreal about her. Staring at his feet he tried to figure it out. He blinked when he realized that he was staring at the woman's purse.
"Shit!" He swore aloud, it must have fallen out of the woman's pocket when she'd fallen. Picking the purse up he dropped it into the back pocket of his pants. If he hurried he might be able to catch up with her.
Turning around and jogging down the street he tried to spot the woman again. There she was he realized in relief as she walked around another corner. Picking up the pace, he dashed forward and rounded the same corner. She was already half way down the sidewalk, breaking into a run he yelled after her. "Excuse me Miss, but you dropped your purse!"
The woman paused in mid-stride and then turned around, allowing him to close the distance between them. "You forgot your purse." He said again as he dug it out and held it out to her.
"Oh! Thank you again. It was very kind of you to return it. Please let me repay you."
Ranma merely shook his head. He didn't really want any payment.
"But I insist, come in and at least let me give you a thank you meal."
"Come in?" Ranma asked puzzled as he glanced about. This side of the street was a steep hill thickly carpeted in trees.
"Yes, my family's shrine is just up ahead." She said, gesturing to the massive staircase in the hillside crowned by a Shinto torii(2).
Ranma's eyes nearly bulged out, she lived up there? Nodding in agreement to appease his sudden curiosity, he followed her to the foot of the staircase. "Just how many steps are there?"
"Ah… four-hundred ninety-nine, there use to be five hundred many years ago but when the city put the sidewalk in one of the stone steps was covered by the concrete."
. . .
Finally reaching the top, Ranma had to stop to catch his breath as he noticed with embarrassment that the woman wasn't even winded. He needed to put more stairs exercises into his fitness regime. The shrine grounds were large and elegantly kept, a sacred tree rose high above its neighbours, to one side was a small shrine house with its doors shut, to the other was a much larger temple. Away from them was a rather modern looking house.
"Could you get the door for me?" She asked once they reached the house. Nodding Ranma did as she asked, surprise that something that usually made him angry when Akane or one of the others asked him do it didn't bother him now.
"Oh, how silly of me," she said with laugh, "I haven't even introduced myself, I'm Higurashi Kagome."
"Saotome Ranma," he replied.
"Please to meet you Saotome-kun, right this way into the kitchen." Dropping the bags onto the counter, she made short work of the groceries and was soon moving about the kitchen making dinner as Ranma watched with a growing feeling of discomfort.
Footnotes:
(1) Nerima Wrecking Crew: term that Ranma and company have been christen with as they reside within the Nerima Ward of Tokyo
(2) Torii: n. shrine gate
"Sealed Past" Ch. 2 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]
Chapter 2
Kagome watched the scenery outside the tinted window change from the crowded streets of the inner city, to the suburbs, and from that into the scenery of the country.
Almost a decade had passed since the Fates had sealed the gateway between times. And even though she'd gone on with her life, graduating from junior high, and then high school and finally entering a prestigious medical university, she hadn't really been living. She'd merely existed, going from one day to the next waiting, eternally waiting. Waiting for someone she'd learned today had been dead for over sixty years.
"Kagome-san?" Came the soft voice from one of the vehicle's occupants.
The young woman shifted her attention to the woman seated at Sesshoumaru's side, fingers laced with the great demons'. It still bemused Kagome ever time she saw the brunette woman. "Yes Rin-san?"
"We are sorry that we didn't tell you sooner," Rin's voice was a blend of compassion, sorrow, and remembered personal grief.
"I think I understand why," Kagome said with a soft sigh. "When the Bone-Eater's-Well was sealed I wasn't functioning very well." She gave a sour smile, remembering the grief that had caused her to lash out at those around her. "I don't think I could have handled knowing that not only would I never be able to return but that he was dead to you as well."
"It still doesn't make it easer does it?"
"No. It doesn't." Kagome replied as the chauffeured car approached the towering gates of a grand estate. "Whose home is this?" She asked idly, watching the manicured lawns and groomed gardens along the drive slide past her window.
"This is actually Shippou-kun's home."
"Shippou-chan's?" Kagome questioned with renewed interest. "I guess owning an automobile company pays."
"That it definitely does," Rin replied with a laugh, "But actually he lived here before he created the company. Because you see, this is the traditional seat of the Fox Lords, and as the oldest nine-tails in the Western Lands, Shippou-kun is undoubtedly the highest ranking Fox Demon Lord."
Kagome blinked, she still had some trouble remembering that not only was Shippou-chan now older then she was, he was also part of the demon nobility. A fact that she still had difficulty comprehending sometimes. Her son was all grown up. And she hadn't seen it.
. . .
Shippou nervously paced back and forth in the front foyer, running his hand though tousled russet hair. Nine tails twitching behind him with agitation.
"It's going to be alright," his wife soothed as she descended the curving stairway to his side.
Shippou turned towards her, suppressing a sound that was a cross between a growl of aggravation and a whine of worry.
"But what if she doesn't—"
She laid a finger against his lips, halting the flow of distressed words. "She loves you as only a mother can love her child. The years won't have changed that. And yes I understand your nervousness, but fretting is only going to make things worse."
Reaching up she straightened his ruffled hair as best she could. "I'm the one who should be worried. After all, the only time I met her we had just finished duelling each other in response to my formal challenge to avenge my brother's deaths."
Shippou snorted; a very un-fox like sound. "Souten, the Thunder Brothers were no great loss to the world."
"I know, but it's the principle of things that count."
Before he could form a reply their youngest came barrelling down the staircase. "They're here Papa! They're here!"
"Oh god," Shippou muttered a phrase that was either a curse or a prayer.
Souten rolled her eyes at her husband as she moved to open the front door. She would never admit it to Shippou, but she was as nervous as he was. Only she was nervous not only for herself, but for him as well. She knew how long he'd wanted this day to happen, and how badly he'd wanted it to go well.
Taking a bracing breath, she opened the door and watched as Sesshoumaru-sama's chauffeur opened the car door, and beautiful woman in her mid-twenties exited, dressed in a pastel-pink turtleneck and a full length denim skirt, her face serenely composed. Her first sight in over five hundred years of the woman her husband viewed as his mother.
Moments later Sesshoumau-sama and Rin-sama appeared behind the Shinto priestess and as a group they approached the stairs leading to the entrance where she stood.
. . .
"You must be Souten-san, Shippou-chan's wife," Kagome said as she offered her hand to the stunning woman with waist-length hair who stood in the doorway. Although she didn't see the thunder demon child she'd met in the woman before her, she did recognise the aura signature of an elemental demon.
"Kagome-sama, welcome to our home." The thunder demon replied formally, clasping the offered hand.
"Please, there is no need for titles." Kagome promptly replied; she was still uncomfortable being address as 'lady'. "After all, we are family."
"Kagome-san," the demon replied with a half smile, some tension unexpectedly seeming to ease. She stepped back from the open door and gestured inwards, "Please—"
A shriek cut her off as a confusing menagerie of bodies tumbled towards them.
"No! We want meet Grandma first!" This from a pair of fox twins.
"No! I do!" The second voice belonged to a fox kit no older than three.
"I'm eldest, I get to!" Was the command from a fox boy just leaving his adolescence.
"No! She's our Aunt, and we know her so we get to meet her first!" This from a group of dog pups as they tussled with their fox cousins.
Kagome blinked in surprise. She'd wondered if Shippou had told his children about her and she guessed this mass of fighting demon children was her answer. Wait a minute—had they called her Grandma?
A sharp fox yip of command rang from the front of the hallway, echoed by a dog growl from behind her. Each commanded obedience. Instantly the squabbling stopped, the group of demon children sorted themselves out and stood at attention.
But her attention was no longer caught by her suddenly acquired grandchildren and nieces and nephews, but by the man standing near the end of the hallway.
Dressed in casual jeans and t-shirt, a head crowned by a mop of russet hair. Pointed demon ears barely visible though the strands, with multiple fox tails lashing the air behind him. His brilliant green eyes were locked with her own.
Her vision blurred as tears formed. "Shippou-chan." She whispered hoarsely, struggling to clear her sight.
Moments later she was unsure who'd moved first, but they were in each other's arms, clinging to each other. And Kagome no longer fought her tears as Shippou whispered Mama over and over again in her ear.
Kagome watched the scenery outside the tinted window change from the crowded streets of the inner city, to the suburbs, and from that into the scenery of the country.
Almost a decade had passed since the Fates had sealed the gateway between times. And even though she'd gone on with her life, graduating from junior high, and then high school and finally entering a prestigious medical university, she hadn't really been living. She'd merely existed, going from one day to the next waiting, eternally waiting. Waiting for someone she'd learned today had been dead for over sixty years.
"Kagome-san?" Came the soft voice from one of the vehicle's occupants.
The young woman shifted her attention to the woman seated at Sesshoumaru's side, fingers laced with the great demons'. It still bemused Kagome ever time she saw the brunette woman. "Yes Rin-san?"
"We are sorry that we didn't tell you sooner," Rin's voice was a blend of compassion, sorrow, and remembered personal grief.
"I think I understand why," Kagome said with a soft sigh. "When the Bone-Eater's-Well was sealed I wasn't functioning very well." She gave a sour smile, remembering the grief that had caused her to lash out at those around her. "I don't think I could have handled knowing that not only would I never be able to return but that he was dead to you as well."
"It still doesn't make it easer does it?"
"No. It doesn't." Kagome replied as the chauffeured car approached the towering gates of a grand estate. "Whose home is this?" She asked idly, watching the manicured lawns and groomed gardens along the drive slide past her window.
"This is actually Shippou-kun's home."
"Shippou-chan's?" Kagome questioned with renewed interest. "I guess owning an automobile company pays."
"That it definitely does," Rin replied with a laugh, "But actually he lived here before he created the company. Because you see, this is the traditional seat of the Fox Lords, and as the oldest nine-tails in the Western Lands, Shippou-kun is undoubtedly the highest ranking Fox Demon Lord."
Kagome blinked, she still had some trouble remembering that not only was Shippou-chan now older then she was, he was also part of the demon nobility. A fact that she still had difficulty comprehending sometimes. Her son was all grown up. And she hadn't seen it.
. . .
Shippou nervously paced back and forth in the front foyer, running his hand though tousled russet hair. Nine tails twitching behind him with agitation.
"It's going to be alright," his wife soothed as she descended the curving stairway to his side.
Shippou turned towards her, suppressing a sound that was a cross between a growl of aggravation and a whine of worry.
"But what if she doesn't—"
She laid a finger against his lips, halting the flow of distressed words. "She loves you as only a mother can love her child. The years won't have changed that. And yes I understand your nervousness, but fretting is only going to make things worse."
Reaching up she straightened his ruffled hair as best she could. "I'm the one who should be worried. After all, the only time I met her we had just finished duelling each other in response to my formal challenge to avenge my brother's deaths."
Shippou snorted; a very un-fox like sound. "Souten, the Thunder Brothers were no great loss to the world."
"I know, but it's the principle of things that count."
Before he could form a reply their youngest came barrelling down the staircase. "They're here Papa! They're here!"
"Oh god," Shippou muttered a phrase that was either a curse or a prayer.
Souten rolled her eyes at her husband as she moved to open the front door. She would never admit it to Shippou, but she was as nervous as he was. Only she was nervous not only for herself, but for him as well. She knew how long he'd wanted this day to happen, and how badly he'd wanted it to go well.
Taking a bracing breath, she opened the door and watched as Sesshoumaru-sama's chauffeur opened the car door, and beautiful woman in her mid-twenties exited, dressed in a pastel-pink turtleneck and a full length denim skirt, her face serenely composed. Her first sight in over five hundred years of the woman her husband viewed as his mother.
Moments later Sesshoumau-sama and Rin-sama appeared behind the Shinto priestess and as a group they approached the stairs leading to the entrance where she stood.
. . .
"You must be Souten-san, Shippou-chan's wife," Kagome said as she offered her hand to the stunning woman with waist-length hair who stood in the doorway. Although she didn't see the thunder demon child she'd met in the woman before her, she did recognise the aura signature of an elemental demon.
"Kagome-sama, welcome to our home." The thunder demon replied formally, clasping the offered hand.
"Please, there is no need for titles." Kagome promptly replied; she was still uncomfortable being address as 'lady'. "After all, we are family."
"Kagome-san," the demon replied with a half smile, some tension unexpectedly seeming to ease. She stepped back from the open door and gestured inwards, "Please—"
A shriek cut her off as a confusing menagerie of bodies tumbled towards them.
"No! We want meet Grandma first!" This from a pair of fox twins.
"No! I do!" The second voice belonged to a fox kit no older than three.
"I'm eldest, I get to!" Was the command from a fox boy just leaving his adolescence.
"No! She's our Aunt, and we know her so we get to meet her first!" This from a group of dog pups as they tussled with their fox cousins.
Kagome blinked in surprise. She'd wondered if Shippou had told his children about her and she guessed this mass of fighting demon children was her answer. Wait a minute—had they called her Grandma?
A sharp fox yip of command rang from the front of the hallway, echoed by a dog growl from behind her. Each commanded obedience. Instantly the squabbling stopped, the group of demon children sorted themselves out and stood at attention.
But her attention was no longer caught by her suddenly acquired grandchildren and nieces and nephews, but by the man standing near the end of the hallway.
Dressed in casual jeans and t-shirt, a head crowned by a mop of russet hair. Pointed demon ears barely visible though the strands, with multiple fox tails lashing the air behind him. His brilliant green eyes were locked with her own.
Her vision blurred as tears formed. "Shippou-chan." She whispered hoarsely, struggling to clear her sight.
Moments later she was unsure who'd moved first, but they were in each other's arms, clinging to each other. And Kagome no longer fought her tears as Shippou whispered Mama over and over again in her ear.
"Sealed Past" Ch. 1 [novella, Kagome/Ranma(Inuyasha), M]
Author: A. Karswyll
Fandom: InuYasha and Ranma ½
Rated: M
Words: 35,995, Chapters 27
Summary: The Bone-Eater's-Well has been sealed by the Gods, leaving Kagome trapped within her own time, forever separated from her soul-mate. But Kagome is not the only reincarnation about from the Feudal Era.
Pairing: Kagome Higurashi/Ranma Saotome (Inuyasha)
Warnings: Language, Sexual Situations
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 1
Kagome watched the flowering branches of the Go-Shin-Boku(1) sway in the breeze as she lay on the sun dappled grass. Trying to absorb what she had just been told by the man that for years she'd viewed as an honorary uncle. Tilting her head to the side she shifted her gaze to the silver haired man beside her.
"So… you're actually Sesshoumaru-sama." Kagome said softly, only now clearly seeing the elegantly pointed ears, cheek stripes and crescent moon resting upon his brow beneath the concealment spell he wore.
"That is correct Kagome-san."
She drew in a shuddering breath and gazed skywards again. "Why are you here and not Inuyasha like he swore?"
The great dog demon hesitated, eyeing the young woman he knew both as an adversary in the Feudal Era and a beloved honorary niece in the 21st Century. Her voice was a dead monotone. Her brown(2) eyes were equally flat and dull. Perhaps it had not been wise to wait so long to tell her…
"I suppose I should begin in the Feudal Era. After your quest had been completed and your return because of Fates decree; the demon slayer and the Buddhist monk as you had hoped were eventually wed and it was they who founded the Higurashi dynasty."
Kagome blinked, Sango and Miroku were her ancestors?
"To honour the vow given to you and to them, the dog demons remained as their guardians, sometimes in fact, sometimes in spirit. It was not until the end of the 18th Century that it was realized that their descendents were actually your forefathers though. It was then that the Sunset Shrine came into your family and has remained ever since."
Kagome tried to puzzle through some of that, finally giving up to ponder later.
"As for us demons, we survived as we always do, although now we're more of a hidden society that exists along side the human one, with carefully placed operatives in all levels of the government throughout all nations to ensure that what we are is known to only a select few."
She'd wondered about that, what had happened to all the demons. But she's been so numb since her return and the sealing of the Bone-Eater's-Well.
"Shippou-kun has also survived and is currently the owner of an automobile corporation, called Toyota. He is also mated to a lightning demon of the Thunder Tribe that you may or may not remember whose name is Souten-san. He has grown up well and has actually become a nine-tails."
A faint smile curved her lips, so her child had grown up and married had he? She felt some of the muffled indifference of pain that had been surrounding her for so long finally beginning to fade.
"Inuyasha… my brother… he raised Shippou-kun as well as a father could, teaching him everything as he had promised you. He also stayed by the slayer's and monk's side, and that of their children, their children's children, and so forth. For it was him who often became the legal guardian of whatever child or children of your lineage that were orphaned due to the various wars and other incidents that have occurred these past five hundred years."
Inuyasha as a father… she couldn't quite picture it in her mind, but her heart knew that he would have been a parent any child would have wanted.
"He however was not quite content. The wait for you was not something that was easy for him to do. So I believe this is what drove him to his eventual death."
"Death?" Kagome's voice was curiously empty.
"He once said that it was only in battle that he could forget the heartache of not being miles but years apart. He died in World War II, killed not only by American demons, but by one of his own. A pure demon that despised being under the command of a half-breed, even if he was of noble blood."
"And these demons… what happened to them?"
The question seemed almost idle, but he could sense that if he told her they still lived, it would not be for long. "They did not survive either, my brother may have been half dead when they attacked, but he was still far more powerful than they could have ever dreamed of being."
Kagome's eyes grew empty. A tearing pain tore at her gut. The barrier that had protected her for so long crumbling like a sandcastle in the tide. No. He could not be dead.
Sesshoumaru saw the blood drain from her already too pale face. He could only hope that what he was going to say next would allow her to live with some hope. "However, it is known that he as been reincarnated sometime in this era."
"A reincarnation? Where?" Kagome asked sharply as she finally looked at him. Her heart was shattered once again but his words helped ease the devastation.
"Close, but who he is and the exact time, we are unable to say."
"How do you know this?" Kagome asked with honest curiosity for the first time, a fragmented memory of a promise made to her by the Fates themselves stirring.
As we decree it shall be. Two made one. This one soul divided nevermore.
"There are men and women with the ability to scry the future and certain other facts."
"Demons?"
"No. Humans with magical abilities that have dealings with us. No demon has ever had the power to predict the future."
Silence descended and for long moments Kagome allowed herself to drift through her memories of the Feudal Era. It had been a hard time but one so simple compared to the 'civilisation' of today. With a combination of wistful acceptance and bittersweet longing she finally stored them away. Treasured though they were, they were still now only old memories. It was time to make new ones.
"I want to see my son."
Sesshoumaru nodded in acceptance of her words. Like his brother, this young priestess would grow and then the Fates would keep their promise to these two souls who they had destined for each other, and then so cruelly torn apart
Footnotes:
(1) Go-Shin-Boku: the Sacred Tree/God Tree that is on the Sunset Shrine grounds, the very same tree that Inuyasha was pinned to over five hundred years ago by Kikyou's sacred arrow.
(2) Regarding eye colour, there are multiple pictures of Kagome with different shades of blue and violet or brown eyes, I have selected the colour brown for them.
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