"Mom?" Kagome smiled, though her mother was facing the opposite way,
Kagome had a strange feeling she knew about it, "Thanks."
~*~*~*~* Two hours later *~*~*~*~
RING....
Kagome glanced up from the school work she was catching up on to the
phone by her bed. That would be Ayami... According to her mother she
called at eight every night.
RING
Sighing, Kagome set down her books and swung her legs over the sides
of the bed. She slowly pulled herself from the bed and walked across the
room.
RI.......
"Konnechewa, Ayami..."
"Oh, Kagome!! How did you know it was me?" Kagome rolled her eyes
and spread her legs, bending down until her torso and legs were parallel.
She did these stretches once every two hours, and much more complicated
ones before she trained.
"Oh... lucky guess..." Kagome muttered, bending over backward as far
as she could.
"You'll never guess who's hair got covered in that... green...
whatever it is at lunch today!"
"Mmm?" Kagome pretty much zoned out from there. She wanted to do
something for Youko before he... left... She could... ugg... What could
she POSSIBLY give him the he wouldn't already have??? Kagome suddenly
smiled.
"Hey, Ayami?" Ayami, cut off from her ramblings, seemed a little
angry as a 'hmmph' was heard on the other end, "I gotta go, do you think
you could come over in about three days? I'm going over to my... er...
aunts house. Her son's got diabetes and he's nervous about it so they
thought with me being out of school with it and all, I might be able to
help." Thank you, Youko!
"Oh? Oh! Sure! I can probably come. Is the rest of the gang going
to be there?" Ayami asked excitedly.
"Well... I want them to go but I haven't got the time to call them.
Can you ask them for me? I really got to go..." Kagome felt the
anticipation crawl up her spine at the thought of his gift.
"Oh sure I was going to call the anyways," Ayami was never brought
down by anything. A slow smile came on Kagome's face as she admired the
girls ignorance.
"Thanks. I'll see you in a couple of days," Kagome knew this would
get her friends hopes up, only to come over and see Kagome crying and
depressed. She suddenly felt guilty, knowing her friends curiosity would
most likely chew her away when she got no explanation as to why she was
acting that way.
"Okay. Bye!" as soon as the dial tone came to her ear she hung up
the phone and ran to her closet. she pulled out a gray sports bag and tore
out of the room. She avoided her family if she could. She didn't want to
stop. She soon reached the basement where she crawled over drawers and
table tops, boxes and coat racks. When she reached an old and decaying
dresser she slid behind it and pushed hard on the wall.
She wasn't surprised when the wall moved over to show itself as the
entrance to a large room with concrete floors showing only in the tiny
cracks between rugs and pillows which littered the floors. The cracks of
cement proved to be a foot apart in a large circle around the entire room.
She ran into the center of the circle and threw the bag down, ignoring the
sounds of the entryway closing behind her.
Kagome ripped the bag open, pulling out the twenty Miko Candles and
setting them in each of the cracks on the floor. When she was finished she
hastily flicked her wrist, each of the candles in turn lit themselves. She
reached into the bag again and pulled out a miko garb, ten small bowls, ten
bottles of water, a necklace with an emerald leaf on a silver chain, and
two stilettos.
She jumped out of her modern day clothes and threw them into a bare
area outside the circle, and quickly dawned the miko garb. She put the ten
bowls in a ring inside the ring of candles and filled each with a bottle of
water. Then she gingerly clasped the emerald necklace around her neck and
put a stiletto in each hand.
She reached into herself and started to stretch and kneed her power.
She felt it grow within her and reveled in it. She leaned over and placed
the stilettos in an X shape on the rug. She straightened her back again
and clapped her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. Words came to
her lips that she had learned long ago, but never had the courage to speak.
"I call upon the gods to council my soul. I ask only that, for my
cause, you take a piece of my spirit and soul and weave it into the very
being of the jewel around my neck. I call upon the god of fire, shall he
burn a mark upon me. I call upon the goddess of earth, shall she dig a
trench around my heart. I call upon the god of water, shall he was the
fear from my soul. I call upon the goddess of Air, shall she breath life
into me. I call upon the gods of fire and water, the goddess's of earth
and air. Though you appose each other, I pray that you unite in me. God
of fire, god of water, goddess of earth, goddess of air. God of fire, god
of water, goddess of earth, goddess of air. God..." as Kagome's words
echoed around the room, four voices began to chant along with her, one
voice per title.
The flickering flame of the candles began to grow until they became
towers of fire. The water in each of the bowls flew from their containers
and took the shape of dragons who began to fly and circle the room. The
air all around the room began to slowly revolve, then speed up into a
tornado of whirl-winds that pulled at Kagome's hair and the wrinkles in her
miko garb. The cement began to crack apart as plants and dirt pushed
themselves into the room, where they crawled over the floors and walls to
make their presence known.
"Why hath thou called, young miko?" a surreal voice echoed across
the room. Kagome's eyes snapped open but she didn't observe the
surroundings. She knew that would make her look unserious of her proposal,
and she was anything but unserious about this.
"I have called upon you, gods of the elements, to ask you to bind me
to the man I love, through this necklace, so that I may carry his soul onto
the next life with me. I also ask you bind the necklace to his soul when
it touches his skin, and let it charm the plants in which he charms."
"Does thou know that the thieving kitsune is to fall into the
clutches of the god of torment for all eternity?" The voice sent a chill
down Kagome's spine, but she kept her expression rock solid.
"Yes," Kagome replied, voice still monotone. There was a moment of
silence before she heard the gods reply.
"Thy bravery is both rare and priceless, and thy love is pure. We
like not the choice of lovers, but trust in the goddess of fate that this
is right. Thy power gives you the strength, and thy soul makes you worthy.
You shall have what you wish and more." Kagome was surprised at this, she
had never heard of the gods giving you more then what you asked for.
Hell, she'd only heard of two miko's even getting what they asked for in
the first place.
"I... do not understand. What more do I need?" Kagome asked, voice
no longer monotone but rather confused.
"You are the first worthy of this gift, young miko. The only
creatures we grant gifts come to us without fear, but rather acceptance and
anticipation in thou heart. You hath no fear of us. You are fates child,
kindness's pupil, and our friend. None who hath asked before have come
with such recommendations."
"I... I still.. How did I earn these... recommendations?" Kagome
heard a small laugh from the voice.
"Modest. You are worthy, young miko. You are child of fate because
you are her most favored. Your spirit, strength, and unending trust earned
you that. You took in an orphaned child, a youkai orphan who attacked you
no less. This earned you the god of kindness's respect. You have become
our friend because you, and you alone wish to disturb nothing unless we
urge you to. As a flame tells an animal to run, as the heavens turn gray
to warn you of a storm, as the water licks your feet to tell you a ship is
coming, as the earth rumbles before she blows her fire to the heavens.
Most creatures have lost the will to look for our encouragement, but you...
you wait for us to signal."
"When... when did I do that?!" Kagome whispered. She didn't think
of herself as anything like the saint they presented her as.
"Did you not wait for the tree to pulse beneath your fingers before
you took the arrow from the hanyo's chest? Did you not avoid your daily
bathing ritual when the water almost seemed to throb in anger? Did you not
keep from trudging on the earth that housed the dead for fear you'd disturb
the souls she took on? Did you not fear going on in your quest when the
wind howled her disagreement?" Kagome thought back to times like those.
Yes, she had been unexplainably nervous at times like that. Like as if she
didn't think she had the right to disturb those things.
"I'm not sure I deserve these praises. But I do not understand what
you do, and will let you make your choice." Kagome whispered, utterly
astounded at how often she had been near gods and goddesses and not even
known it. She took a glance around the room, watching the blue flames lick
the ceiling above her, and yet they didn't spread. The water dragons
curled around the flames and circled her torso and arms. The air almost
seemed to dance as it swirled noticeably around the room. The leaves on
the vines that grew on the wall seemed to be prickling in conversations she
couldn't hear.
"You will understand eventually, little miko. We must warn you
though. Since thy love has brought thou to this choice, thou shall have to
test that very thing. You will have to enter the Maze of Uncertainty.
There you will be brought to test everything you are. Your honesty, your
kindness, your strength... your love. If you can go through this maze
intact, you will be stronger in every way. And you will also gain a gift
from each of us." The voices had seemed to slowly separate during that
last sentence. Kagome was surprised when each began to speak separately.
"I," the first was the deep voice of a male, "god of water, will give
you the first born on my prize water dragon Splash to summon when you wish
for her or are in need of her assistance."
"I," female voice, "goddess of earth, will give you the unicorn
Quartz of my best pack. He will come to you only when you need him. You
need not summon him."
"I," again, a male voice, "god of fire, will give you the fire cat
Scorch. He will stay by your side always, as a friend and companion."
"I," the last, a female, "goddess of wind, will give you the aid of
the fairy , Silver Star, to be your guide and advisor." Again, the voices
seemed to unite.
"We will give you these gifts, young miko, because you are meant for
great things. But be warned, if you treat these creatures as toys, or
things under your control, we will take them from you, and you will loose
our favor." Kagome bowed her head.
"I accept the punishment in the maze, the gifts, and the warnings,
and I thank you." Kagome replied. The fire retreated to the small flames
on the candles, the water dragons jumped into the bowls, the plants
retreated and pulled the cement back into place, and the air stilled. For
a moment Kagome thought she had done something wrong, but then a bright
light flashed.
"We wish you well, young miko..." and with those words still echoing
in her mind, Kagome collapsed.
~*~* When Kagome leaves the Maze of Uncertainty*~*~
As the darkness began to subside, Kagome tried pointlessly to open
her eyes. It took her a few minutes, but as soon as she cracked her eyes
open, her head went reeling. She immediatly closed them again and reached
her hand up to rub her temple.
After this one... painful experience, Kagome found it easy to pull
herself into a sitting position. At first she was totally confused on what
had happened to her, but as it all came rolling back, she smiled.
"Definitely not something I'll forget for a while..." She began to pull herself up, wincing every-time her
muscles made a sharp protest to it. She felt like she had lain in that
same spot for a century. She couldn't help but examine the stray locks
that fell into her eyes for any sign of grays.
When she finally pulled herself up she observed the room. Nothing
had changed. In fact, the candles, bowls, and stilettos had disappeared.
The only remnant of her little 'experiment' were the cracks in the cement
and the miko garb she still wore. Well, that and...
Kagome reached her hand to her forehead, tracing it all the was up to
an inch before her hairline. When her fingers began to trail the six-sided
star jewel embedded on there, her smile broadened to a grin. She was a
Guardian now. First class.
This had all been explained to Kagome in the end of the maze.
Guardians were the people or souls appointed to work directly for the gods.
They went in class's for how effective they could be. Midoriko had gone
into the maze in her final moments, and had been appointed third class, and
a seat by the gods in the afterlife.
Third class was pretty high actually. There were seventy three
classes. First being a major effect in the timeline, think the next queen
of England. Thirty being a man pushing the next Hitler in front of the
train tracks. Seventy three being a woman taking in and taking car of a
little orphan girl who is to be a senator who makes the tie braking vote on
surrendering or fighting on.
Problem was... no Guardian, first or seventy third class, knew how
he/she was meant to effect the future. And Kagome was clueless as to why
she had been selected as a Guardian, let alone first class.
Not that Kagome had any qualms to being a Guardian. The benefits
were heavenly and it was the greatest possible honor... but she was just a
little confused. How was she supposed to do some sort of legendary thing
when she had no clue what it was? Let alone where she was supposed to go,
when she needed to go there, what did she need to do it and all those
little details.
Yet Kagome's smile had only broadened with her thoughts of the
'benefits'. Ah yes, and what benefits they were...
~*~*~*~* few minutes later, or whenever Kagome gets her bearings*~*~*~*~
Kagome slowly trudged up the stairs toward the laundry room, trying
to imagine what she could possibly tell her parents about why she had been
down there for so long. She suddenly froze. What if... what if she had
been in there longer then she had thought and two days had already...
Tearing up the last of the stairs Kagome finally burst into the
dining room, coming onto the scene of her family eating dinner. She tried
to speak but found it useless while she was in the middle of gasping for
breath. So, waiting a moment, she prepared again. She briefly noticed how
noodles still hung out of her little brothers mouth, and how her jii-chan
had not finished moving his chopsticks, leaving them halfway between his
mouth and the plate, before trying again.
"ItriedthisoldmikoincantationtocallonthegodsandI'mnotsurehowmuchtimehaspasse
dandIreallyREALLYneedtoknow..." Silence. Total silence. Then the clunck
of jii-chan's chicken hitting the plate.
"... What?..." Souta spoke through the noodles. Kagome face faulted
and tried to calm herself down.
"What day is it?" She finally asked, annoyance showing clearly
through the tightly restrained words. Souta rolled his eyes and finished
eating his noodles, intending to say a rather sarcastic remark about his
sisters cense of time, but his mother beat him to it.
"Dear... are you alright?" Kagome sighed. She couldn't have been
missing long... they still didn't know she had left. But she still felt
doubts.
"Just tell me what day it is..." she had said this a lot calmer then
how she had snapped it the first time, but you could still tell she wanted
to know.
"Did you hit your head when you ran into the basement? I mean, it
could be brain damage..." Kagome glared at her brother.
"Okay then... how long ago DID I run into the basement," she
continued before her grandfather could protest, "Just for the sake of
argument..." her little brother's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he
answered her anyway.
"About fifteen minutes ago..." Souta answered slowly. Kagome felt a
giant burden pulled off her shoulders.
"Ah... thank the gods," Kagome immediately covered her mouth before
starting to giggle. She'd have to be a lot more careful before saying
those words anymore. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed the
stares of her family.
Yep... they'd definitely think her crazy now...
Kagome sighed and walked to her bedroom. She had places to go and
people to see. And a very important present to give away.