Penumbra c. 3

[Lauren]

AN: My apologies. It?s so, so short, and far too long in coming. But, I can at least report the rest should be flowing more smoothly than this one did. Uhmmmmm...lessee. LOVE my beta, (if you don?t know who she is yet, shame on you!) LOVE my qualified reader, (once again, for shame if you don?t know) and once again, LOVE *YOU* for reading <3 Enjoy!

PS: For those of you that would prefer to read it there, this fanfiction is also posted on FF.N located here

Penumbra
Chapter 3


It was war. Flames toyed with my robes, left sooty love bites on fragile skin. Fighting instinct drew my mind as sharp as the arrow already drawn and waiting for purpose. There was so much heat, cooking the smells of filth and vomit and human struggle. I didn?t gag, didn?t even hesitate as I became dragon slayer, warrior, hunter. The sweat plastered cloth and hair to me, the blood bathed me in its? sanctioned sin.

And then?

Frozen.

This wasn?t me!

I ripped out the ribbon binding my hair.

?Damn you, Kikyo! Stop it!?

No voice answered mine. The roar of the battle mingled with the blood pounding in my ears. It grew softer, fainter, and I suddenly realized I was no longer in the burning village. Where I was now was dark and cool and boundless. The skin of my face grew dry, growing taught on my features. It wrinkled, tore, pieces of flesh falling to the ground in sizeable chunks. I could see it all happen, spectator and participant at the same time. The last of the skin slide off my chin and hit the ground with a wet ?splosh.?

But the face that emerged?was Kikyo?s.

My hands rested lightly over my cheeks. I heard my own voice speak, echoing almost separately from my awareness.

?I don?t understand.?

In the next instant I was yanked back to where I had been previously standing, watching lives and dreams going to hell, burning on a funeral pyre fit for Vikings. Then a wrenching force, an ungodly pain, and a sword was through my chest.
My body crumpled to the ground on my scream.
~*~
?NO!?

It was gone. Heavy hands grasped at my pounding heart, searching for the fatal wound. My fingers found only breast and collarbone. I was alive.

?You?re awake.?

I jerked towards the voice, noticing for the first time that a child stood near me. My school bag was clutched to her midriff.

?You dropped this.?

?Who are you?? I moaned, letting my aching head rest in my hands.

She flashed me an enigmatic smile. ?My name is Maro, but I was once known by a name very different, while I lived in the Warring States Era; a time when Kikyo, my older sister, was still very much alive. It is my former self who comes to you now.?

At the mention of Kikyo it all came rushing back to me. I sucked in a gasp.

?Where?s Inuyasha? We have to get out of here. He?s going to kill us!? I rose shakily to my feet, ears straining for any sound of a coming attack.

?Inuyasha?? The young girl asked, blinking up at me. ?He wasn?t here when I found you.?

?Please, come with me inside. Just inside. So if he comes back we?re not out in the open.? I knew my voice held a hysterical note, and the girl gazed back at me with age-ridden eyes. It freaked me out, seeing the eyes of a grandma set in a child. But really, what hadn?t I seen lately that wasn?t worthy of a freak out?

?Alright.? She agreed finally. ?Explanations are more conducive with tea anyway.?

It was such a trite reason, but I took what I could get. Forget that that monster would rip apart her tiny female frame, sparing no concern over the fact that she would?ve died just as effectively if she was left to walk home on her own, or maybe cook dinner on the stove. It must be terrifying to be that young- knowing you couldn?t even defend yourself against another child if they happen to grow faster. Depending utterly on the love of your parents to keep you alive. And what if your parents didn?t love you? What then? I hobbled to the door, her small arms supporting what she could of my exhausted frame. With her help, I fished the house key from my bag.

When I slid the key into the lock my hand trembled so viciously I almost couldn?t find the metal slit in the bolt.

She noticed, I know she did, because she was staring at my fingers, shaking like there were motors under my skin.

But she never said a word.

~*~
In the house, the warm smells of cooked food and air fresheners slowed my beating heart, but I still felt numb and hypersensitive at the same time. I did as the girl suggested, and put on the kettle, setting out two blue-painted tea cups. They weren?t ?my teacups?, I noticed, they were ?Grandpa?s teacups?. I knew it had only been three months, but I was beginning to wonder...would this shrine ever feel like home?

?Don?t start with this again, Kagome...?

It seemed like mere seconds had passed when the kettle whistled, split seconds to set out the tea cups, steep the tea. Maro poured, while I clenched my fists against my thighs, delicate tremors disturbing my flesh from head to toe. My mind was blank- my heart...all blank.

?You?re in shock.? Maro observed, taking a delicate sip from her cup.

The weak laugh that tumbled from my stiff mouth held anything but humor. ?Wouldn?t you be??

A twist of her lips, hideous and cynical on that young mouth. ?You?ll see worse.?

Correction.

I?m just worried about her, Dad. Even though she?s had time, Kagome has never really mourned for her father. I?m beginning to think she?s been...damaged, by what she witnessed.

*Have* seen worse.

But I nod, assenting to her authority on the subject. ?You were her sister?? I asked, the still air begging for a change of subject.

?In another time, yes.? Another sip, another calculating gaze.

?How do you know that?? My voice is dull, and I can?t find it in me to conjure curiosity such a question would require.

?My current awareness has been bonded with my former one, in order to aide you in your quest.? Neat tiny fingers, folded like an adult?s. Indifferent, schooled expression, tranquil like an adult. Where was the child Maro must have been?

?My quest??

?You...don?t know the story about Inuyasha, do you?? The edge of concern made me nervous.

?I know it.? I defended. ?Inuyasha fell in love with Kikyo, priestess of the Jewel of the Four Souls. But one of them was betrayed- no one knows who did it first. Inuyasha used the Jewel to transform into a full demon, but he only succeeded in splitting himself right down the middle. Kikyo sealed him to the tree, then she died. Her body was burned with the jewel.?

Maro moved to my side of the table. ?Then tell me, Kagome, how you came to have this jewel in your heart if Inuyasha had successfully used it to fulfill his wish.?

I was blindsided by the hole in the story. That?s right. Kikyo wouldn?t have been able to be burned with the Jewel if Inuyasha had used it.

?I...I supposed I assumed that Inuyasha?s wish wasn?t fulfilled- since he became mindless. And so the jewel remained.? It was staggering really. That no one had mentioned it before, no one had caught the glaring imperfection in the legend. I suppose because it was already so unbelievable that no one could be bothered to notice the contradiction. ?Why wasn?t the jewel destroyed?? I realized I had been clutching at my chest, the steady beat of my heart a bit more potent than usual. I knew now, beneath the layers of my skin, that stupid hunk of rock was messing with me.

?The jewel Inuyasha used was a fake.? Maro?s replies were frustratingly short and to the point.

?But why would there even *be* a fake jewel? And is it because of the jewel that I?m having these crazy things happen to me?? I was hungry for knowledge now, desperate to understand the situation more.

?No one knows why or how Inuyasha came to possess a fake. It?s a mystery that was never solved. Kikyo sealed him to the tree, not because he stole the jewel, but because he attacked her, and because she knew he was no longer a sane being. I think...I think she regretted loving him. She must have known it was doomed from the beginning.?

My vision must have been affected by the day?s events, because for a moment I did not see an eight-year-old girl, but an old woman, skin wrinkling with melancholy under an iron eye patch.

?Kaede?? I whispered.

It was gone, and it was Maro?s face I saw look at me, startled. ?What did you say??

?I...? I felt a splitting headache come on, and that expansive feeling was returning. My mind stretched uncomfortably. ?I don?t remember. What is this? What is happening to me??

?Those are your powers. Your meeting with Kikyo must have prematurely woke them. Which would also explain how Inuyasha found you.?

?What powers? And *what quest*?? It was too much, too fast, reality and fantasy colliding, a heady drug in my veins. Limbs moved through thick liquid, my mind was leaden and blank as I gripped the edge of the table. ?Keep me on the ground? I prayed, ?let my fingers keep me here on Earth, because I don?t want to go where she?s leading.?

?You are a miko, Kagome. You have been chosen to lay my sister?s spirit to rest, and to protect the jewel that rests in your heart...?

A moment, a heartbeat, a slow swoop of eyelashes.

?By slaying Inuyasha.?

[Lady Casper]

Wow, that was really good there Lauren. I had been wondering when the next chappie was coming out. ^__^ this was an excellent thing to wait for. pls continue

[ice princess]

WOW, what an original AU!!!! It was a tad short, but you left it on a very powerful cliffy! The little girl is quite a twist - I like that Kagome can almost see "Kaede" as a little sister (albeit very VERY wise younger sister) just like Kikyo had experienced. It brings their connection that much closer. So Inuyasha was split down the middle, so to speak? Does that mean that it was his pure demon self that was attached to that tree? What interesting twists! Can't wait for more!!

~ice princess

[black_nemesis_queen]

AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no other way to discribe this fic!