Chapter 1
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi, VIZ, etc... Those would be the guilty parties for creating the phenomenon known as IY. I write this for the enjoyment of torturing our fair Kagome. This is my response to Nobody's "Uncomfortable" challenge. To quote Jim Carrey as the Riddler... See Ya Soon! - TK
The Ceremony of Family
Kagome stepped down into the well house, hoping against realism that the well was working. Seeing no welcoming blue light as she leaned into the void, she sighed and headed back up to the shrine. She trudged her way over to the storage shed and slowly pushed the door open before walking in and resigning herself to a miserable afternoon.
"Stupid well, it's like a harbinger of doom! It dragged me back to the past and all the drama that was associated with the jewel. Now it refuses to work when I need a convenient escape hatch!" She deliberately ignored the niggling voice that reminded her she would probably not be able to get back. "Oh well, it won't be over with until I get started."
Ten minutes later, the old man came in and scowled at her. "Kagome, I thought we agreed..." He reached behind her and picked up the most gaudy looking hat she'd ever seen. Plopping it on her head, he turned to leave. "That is the critical part of the ceremony. Leave it alone!"
Kagome scowled. "Grandpa, this is an Indian headpiece. You know, the kind that lived in America. Please tell me how this has anything to do with Shintoism!" She ran her left hand over the very tall eagle feathers that were standing up along the brim.
"Child, that is a sacred headdress." He walked out the door.
She tightened the lime green obi that was holding the electric blue kimono on. "Yeah, for the Masapiqua Creek Tribe of Northern Dakota."
"I heard that!"
Kagome hung her head in defeat and waited for her cue to enter. Sure enough, long before she was ready, she opened the door and walked around to the stage area of the shrine and waited for the final words to finish. At the mention of the vicious dragon, she minced out into the middle of the stage and bowed.
"How!" A prankster in the back of the room said the thing she was disrespectfully thinking and she had to swallow a snigger as a smack was heard and a whiny "Ow!" was the response.
"I am the priestess of..." She rolled her eyes as she went through all of the names she knew.
"jinufujisaku" Another snigger and smack as her grandfather fed her the line.
"Jinufujisaku." She stood and waved a giant fan painted with an authentic Chinese dragon. "I will protect the village from the ravages of Ryoku."
A whispered "Hey, ain't that a Chinese drag..." Another smack. "Well, I was just asking because Japanese dragons..." smack. "have four claws..." smack "and Chinese have..." smack "would you stop that? Five!"
Kagome peered around the edge of the fan and noticed a scraggly looking guy with wavy brown hair sitting next to a distinguished businessman with short white hair. She thought they looked just like she envisioned Kouga and Sesshoumaru if they lived today. Saddened, she turned in a little circle and waited for the dragon to appear.
"Hey, what's she doing now?" Silence. "Just wondering because she looks like a top."
The dragon, worn by Souta, weaved into the room and made a very artificial hissing noise. Summoned to action, she raised her hand. "Halt, Demon!" The dragon fell to the floor. The kid on the first row started laughing and she swore the Kouga look-alike said something about how her green obi didn't match her bright blue Kimono which did not match her pastel purple undergarment which really didn't match the orange socks or the headdress. There were a couple of head whacks in the middle so she may have missed something. She stood strong and waved the gaudy black and gold fan over the supine body. "I have rid this village of the monster."
"What's she doing now, cooling it off?"
The deep voice that answered back sent a shiver up her spine. "I rather suspect she is wafting away the wretched smell of flesh decaying, but then I also suspect the old man made up this entire ceremony as a ruse to extract more money from the observers." She dared a glace at the two in the back, a blush of mortification moving up her face. "However, if you utter a single additional word, I will cut your tongue out with my claws."
Startled, she almost didn't hear her grandfather whisper that she could leave. Thinking about how very embarrassing that would have been if InuYasha had been there, she missed the quiet approach of one of the guests.
"Miko..."
The deep voice stopped her in her tracks and she again felt the flush of embarrassment. "Yes sir?" She didn't turn to face him.
"I did not attend this ceremony for my health. I came seeking you."
"I do not perform private ceremonies, sleep with shrine goers or write sutras for future success. I merely keep things clean and take care of the garden."
"Ah, and slay demons in your spare time. Do not forget that." He watched her shoulders drop. "But I have never seen you use a fan before. Are you more accurate with it than your typical arrow?"
Kagome froze and turned towards him, afraid to look up. Slowly she raised her head, taking in his suddenly altered appearance. Bright pink slashes on his cheeks, yellow eyes, pink eye shadow. No doubt, it was Sesshoumaru. "Dear Kami." She turned an even brighter red.
"Man, your facial makeup makes the outfit even more hideous!" The brown haired man walked up, his green eyes shining as a testament to his heritage. "What did my dad ever see in you?"
Kagome couldn't help it. She just started laughing. "Of course, of all the days of my life, you two have to show up today. Today, which is Grandfather's annual Priestess of whatever the hell she was Day."
"Miko, why would you wear such..."
Kagome cut him off before he could finish. "It's a costume. What did you do to your hair?"
He absently ran a hand through it. "Long hair is hard to manage in today's world."
Kagome couldn't help but think of all the conditioners and hair products that were not available during the time he only had one hand. "Okay, it looks good, but I like the long hair better."
"You did not answer my question."
"Oh, I wear this because I love my grandfather and he demands it of me."
"Ah, family." He looked intense for an instant. "I understand."
Kagome looked up into his face and saw the tracks that time had worn on his smooth skin. "You do?"
Sesshoumaru leaned close and gathered her to him, kissing her on the lips. They both broke away and stared at each other in confusion. "That was not supposed to happen like that."
"What was supposed to happen?"
"Not that." He turned. "My family wanted me to tell you that he is waiting if you can come back. He will wait for fifty years, if you do not return, he will assume you were never able to and he will commence his life."
"InuYasha is waiting for me?"
"That is what I said." He put a hand up when Kouga's son opened his mouth. "That is all I came to see you for and I am as unsettled by delivering the message as you are to be wearing that outfit." He turned and left, leaving Kouga's son standing in confusion.
"So, really, do you still have nice legs hidden under there? That's all he'd tell me before I came on this trip, oh and that you had really big knockers too."
The shoe that came out of nowhere did a successful job. Kagome smiled and picked it up, carrying it over to the stoic man standing with one sock showing. "Thank you."
"Hn. Family, what can you do?"
A/N: Again, I hope you found it enjoyable. I kept it under word limit for once. Please have a great week. - TK