Her Own Eudaemon by kaoruhana
Her Eudaemon Maybe
A/N: Prompt: Maneuver
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Kagome cowered in her blankets feeling a sense of foreboding creep upon her. Sesshomaru’s plan sickened her and it made her want to hurl something at him. What was worse was the fact that Naraku laughed at her from inside her head reminding her that she couldn’t do a thing. A few days ago she had realized that she was slowly losing control of herself- that Naraku had taken over her almost completely. The brief moments when she had been able to escape or block Naraku’s presence were there no longer. He was always with her and it killed her.
Let me sleep she begged closing her eyes and fingering the necklace around her neck. It was a simple gold chain with an odd gray bauble at the end. Her grandfather swore it was the powerful Shikon jewel that warded off evil though she didn’t believe that. If it was real then she would have never been in this position in the first place. But even if she didn’t want to admit it, she did feel more calm while holding it. Naraku’s power dulled whenever she held it and so she had taken to holding it as she slept every night. And even if she didn’t believe in the power of the jewel it had slowly been turning pink when she was training with Kaede. But that had stopped and the blue bauble had become gray over time. Kagome scoffed- it probably meant nothing. And with that thought her mind finally shut down and she closed her eyes to sleep.
The morning came too soon for Kagome. Two days had passed since she had come with Sesshomaru to his estate. Which meant that today was the day Sesshomaru decided to enact his plan. Kagome got ready for her morning routine and went into the bathroom. She contemplated suicide- but even that was taken from her. Naraku would make her do something that stopped her actions. After taking a shower and brushing her teeth, she changed into a new set of clothes before making her way downstairs to the dining room. Sesshomaru was there, talking with someone and curious, she waited outside the door and heard what he said.
“Naraku is slowly gaining power over the girl. Do you have the proper sealing devices?”
“Aye,” a gravelly voice announced- one that Kagome recognized as Kaede’s, “what is your plan?”
“To weaken her first.” Sesshomaru announced sensing something outside the door. His senses had been dulled with the amount of holy power in the room but now that he concentrated he realized who was at the door. A shuffling caught his attention and moments later he felt his prey sprint to the courtyard. Cursing, he made to follow but was stopped by the old miko.
“What is it?” She asked her eyes hardened.
“Kagome heard us. Naraku is making her flee.” With that he charged through the door leaving the monks, mikos, and the Tachibana family to follow him.
Sesshomaru didn’t know what to expect but what he found surprised him. His brother was in front of Naraku- the Naraku/Kagome- and was fighting. But why was he here? He found he didn’t have to worry because moments later, his brother collapsed unable to avoid a close range blast of holy powers. The sudden intensity of power surprised Sesshomaru. Since when did Kagome become so strong? Nonetheless, he stepped up to take Inuyasha’s place.
“Come to fight me now?” Naraku asked grinning gleefully as he realized he could control the girl’s powers. “You forget Sesshomaru, that she is a woman- a holy woman!” Sesshomaru snarled and shot out a whip of his poisonous acid. Naraku dodged it and sent a blast his way which he dodged as well. Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru wondered what the demon was planning.
“Tsk Tsk, we can’t have you escape can we?” A whip, similar to his, tugged at his arm before he had a chance to dodge. It burned but it was not that big of a problem. He heard the humans in the distance and knew that soon Naraku would be distracted enough that the hold on the whip would disintegrate.
“How will you fight us all Naraku?” He asked teasingly waiting for the humans to arrive.
Naraku smirked and blew a blast of reiki at the humans please that he could manuever the situation to his liking. But it did nothing. Shocked he turned to the crowd and as Sesshomaru suspected it gave him the perfect volley to attack- an attack that the priestess couldn’t dodge. As the woman collapsed Naraku cursed her body. She may have been a miko but she was pitiful- he could only control the known behavior of the woman which meant that he had no control over her stamina or her strength. Tapping into her mind he willed her to get up and thought for a moment he was succeeding but instead felt an odd tingling up his spine. It reminded him of Midoriko but the witch was long dead. Then what was it.
Naraku turned to the humans and opened his eyes in shock as he recognized the chant coming from the old woman. But he grinned, the old woman wasn’t nearly powerful enough, even with the rest of the monks and mikos adding their power. No, the only thing powerful enough to hurt him was a Higurashi miko- and he had control of her. Plus, she was too untrained for this task. Laughing, he allowed the spell to take over him- the seal would only hold for a few days after all. And maybe then, he could control Sesshomaru.
“Kaede,” Sesshomaru growled realizing something was wrong, “how long will the seal hold.” The miko huffed as she finished the chant and a black ghostly figure seeped out of Kagome. She concentrated on moving him to the chest and only once the chest had closed and was sealed did she speak.
“I have not the power- these mikos and monks do not have it either. It will hold for four days before I need to reinforce it.” Sesshomaru cursed as he eyed the girl Naraku had possessed.
Kagome was gasping for breath and trying to get over the fog she was in. The words she was hearing took some time to process but she understood them nonetheless and wished she could do something. All along, Naraku had been in control of her but she had known what was going on. Now, it felt strange to have her body and mind to herself but she realized she needed to help cage in Naraku first. Standing up, she took a few more deep breaths until she felt she was in control and eyed the chest.
“Kagome,” Sesshomaru stated noting the girl had a resolve about her, “what is wrong?” Kagome turned to him and once again wished that she could seal Naraku. At that thought, a warm feeling settled on her chest and she looked down at the bauble she had always worn around her neck which was now glowing a bright pink. Slowly, she felt the strength that she had struggled with moments ago come back to her, and with a growing determination approached the chest where Naraku was sealed.
She approached the chest and closed her eyes as she placed a hand on the seal. And as the tendrils of holy energy slowly seeped into the seal everyone understood what was happening. The unmistakable taint of holy aura was immense and the growing power was surging into the seal and causing it to open? Confused, all they could do was watch as the black ghost they had sealed came out of the chest. And then before their eyes it started burning. Kaede and the rest of the mikos and monks looked at Kagome in awe- did she really have that much power? And as they continued to watch, the miko purified Naraku in front of their eyes.
When at last, the demon disappeared, Kagome collapsed and Sesshomaru moved to catch her as the demon was defeated. Stunned, he turned to Kaede asking her silently what had just happened.
“When Midoriko was alive, she met a monk- a man named Sugoru. Together, they had a son but in childbirth Midoriko realized she would not make it. So she asked the kami’s to help her protect her son even after her death. The kamis granted her request and upon her death took the power existent within her and transferred it into the jewel. Ever since then, the jewel has been passed down the Higurashi line to the female that shows the strongest potential for holy power. Today, we saw that.”
Kikyo, fuming, stood to the side. She was a Higurashi- her father was one of them- and as Kagome’s cousin she had felt slighted when the jewel was given to her. But it hadn’t worked and Kikyo assumed that it wasn’t the real jewel. Now, as her plan was thwarted once again she fumed.
“Why does she have the jewel?” Kikyo hissed. “It should have been me as the most powerful to have it. And what kind of a guardian is she, letting herself be possessed by a demon in her grandmother’s shop.” Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her outburst- Kikyo shouldn’t have known about the whereabouts of the chest unless she was working with Inuyasha. Suddenly, it all became clear. He didn’t care for his brother but had heard that he was in a relationship with a miko. And he knew Inuyasha had been the one to place the box in Kaede’s care.
“You put it there.” He accused glaring. “You wanted to free the demon and prove your worth when you sealed him. But why?”
“Because I am tired of being cast aside! For once, I wanted to prove I was the better miko!” She made a move to attack Sesshomaru but was stopped by Miroku and Sango. Quickly, Sango shot her down with a well-aimed strike and Miroku lent his help in taking her off to the side. Inuyasha, who had seen the ordeal came forward and laid down his hands in front of Sesshomaru.
“I am at fault as well.” He announced telling everyone of his involvement, including the reanimation spell that Kikyo had used on Kohaku to retrieve the chest. Sesshomaru glared down at his brother.
“We will take this matter to the police. Let’s go.” But before he could leave Sango approached Inuyasha and punched him.
“You defiled my brother’s resting place for your own gain. You disgusting vile bastard!” She turned away from him, tears in her eyes, and Miroku approached her slowly taking her into his arms. With the party now somber, they went inside and took care of the events of the day.
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Three months later
Kagome shelved away a few antique scrolls in Kaede’s store as the woman disappeared into the backroom. As she shelved the scrolls away she sighed as she thought about how long it had taken her to set foot in the shop. Three months ago she had purified a demon that even Midoriko hadn’t been able to. And then, she had been told of the reason she had been possessed by the demon in the first place. Kikyo had been sent to jail where she was residing and had been stripped of her miko rights. Inuyasha- he had been shunned by demon society and was currently in jail as well. As for her- things had changed for the better.
Three months ago, she had returned to her family, Kaede and Sesshomaru in tow and her ordeal had been explained. She had slowly started to regain some normalcy in her life and had been undergoing training under Kaede for her miko powers. And then she had slowly moved on with her life and gone back to life as she knew it. She had befriended the Tachibana’s and Miroku and was now content to work in Kaede’s shop. It would be a while before she touched any sealed objects however.
“Excuse me?” She quickly stood and made her way out of the dusty shelves to see what was going on. Her breath caught as Sesshomaru stood by the cashier. He held something in his hands and she hastily wiped her hands on her jeans as she approached him.
“Hello.” Kagome had seen Sesshomaru only twice since the incident. Once, when he stopped by the shrine to drop her, and another time when he came to her training session.
“Hello Kagome.” He inclined his head before looking around the shop. “Are you busy?” Kagome shook her head as she turned to see Kaede come out of the backroom.
“Then may I ask you to join me for coffee? As friends or maybe something else.” Flushing, Kagome realized that while she had no idea why, Sesshomaru was asking her out to coffee as a date. She looked to Kaede who nodded giving Kagome the consent to leave.
“I think I’d like to join for coffee- as maybe something else.” She disappeared into the back room and came back out a few minutes later with her bag and jacket. Saying a quick goodbye to Kaede she followed Sesshomaru out the door. The episode three months ago might have changed her, but it made her appreciate the joys of life a bit more. And right now, she was glad to be enjoying one of those joys.
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A/N: Tis Finally done! Pardon any typos and errors! I have twenty minutes till my internet goes out and my computer's acting spastic again! I'll fix errros tomorrow!