A Curse By Any Other Name by Kay

Truth

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha.

First story on this site so go easy on me! Hope you guys enjoy and review!

Chapter One

Kagome had been told the story of Naraku and Kikyou repeatedly since her grandmother had gotten custody of her at the age of two. Their tragic love story had been engraved into her heart and mind, leaving no detail to spare. Every little fact, every little line that she had been told wasn’t something she could ever forget. Even if Kagome wished to wash her mind of the story, she wouldn’t be able to because this story was more than a mere story.

It was history.

Her history.

Kagome’s grandmother, her father’s mother, was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kagome was Kikyou’s reincarnation. Because of the similar features, features that had drawn so they would not be forgotten, and the fact that Kagome knew of Kikyou’s story beforehand, Kagome had been deemed as the next Kikyou reincarnation.

This, however, was not joyous or enjoyable.

No, this assumption that was later on backed up by Kagome’s growing tattoos wrote a terrible destiny upon her page. Her body was cursed to contain a sacred jewel that had the power to grant any wish you desired. That wish, though, could be your demise for the jewel could taint your mind and your heart with its madness, its greed. A perfectly good person could become a terrible monster if their hands got ahold of the jewel and wished upon it. No matter the wish, no matter how good, this jewel seemed to always taint the people it touched. Well, the people before Kikyou was entrusted to keep it pure and hidden from all who wished for its power. That was no longer a problem . . . Much.

Because the jewel was safely hidden somewhere in Kagome’s body, no one knew of its existence except her grandmother. Kagome thought that meant she merely had to keep the jewel’s location a secret but she had been wrong. Her grandmother had told her that would be wise but there was something Kagome had to never do if she wished the jewel to remain hidden.

Kagome could never fall in love.

True love.

For some reason, a reason that had never been explained, finding true love would free the jewel and reveal its location to every demon and every person that had spiritual powers. The jewel then would be free to use its siren call to draw in all who desired its legendary power and use these people to its advantage. The jewel would be able to do untold damage to its carriers and to the world if not kept hidden.

Which meant Kagome had to stay hidden and protected at all costs.

Even her freedom.

“Kagome,” her grandmother gasped, drawing Kagome’s attention towards her frail body that was in bed. “Come here.”

Kagome obeyed, carefully sitting down on her bent legs and let her grandmother take her hands hostage in her wrinkly ones. She knew that her grandmother had been ill for some time and that the doctors had gravely told her of the limited time her grandmother had left but Kagome had not registered it until now. She had remained in her personal fairytale land where she did not protect an evil jewel with her body and her grandmother was not dying.

How long have I turned a blind eye to this situation? How long has she been this way? Laying here in such pain?

Though Kagome’s blindness had eased her emotional pain greatly, she regretted the time she had thrown away and the time she could have spent with her beloved grandmother. Her grandmother had been the only mother she had ever known, the only person she had ever loved. How could she continue on without her grandmother’s wisdom? Who would comfort her when her tattoos once again grew just a little bit longer and brighter? Who would constantly tell her of the tale of her aunt that had been the host before her and remind her of what had to be done? Who would stand in her way of romance’s tantalizing presence? Who would chide her if she ever mindlessly spoke of finding that special someone?

No one.

How on Earth would Kagome be able to hide herself away from the world when there was no one to be her anchor? How would she be able to resist the temptation of falling in love, in true love? Kagome was not strong-willed when it came to resisting the prospect of meeting her special someone and drowning in his arms. No, that was something she had always secretly dreamed about and yearned with all of her closed heart. She wanted that life, a life filled with the love that could only ever be called true. Kagome wanted it badly, so badly that she could see her desired future just within reach of her fingertips.

But she can never have it.

Not ever.

“You know . . . you know you must never . . . leave this place,” her grandmother murmured as her eyes feverishly stared Kagome. “You are . . . safe . . . here.”

Kagome merely nodded, unable to trust her voice to not speak of what Kagome was dreaming about. She did not see her grandmother visibly relaxed because all she could see was the future that was being thrust upon her shoulders, a future that was made of lonely threads. This bothered Kagome.

It bothered her a lot.

She was going to be alone until the jewel killed her. She wasn’t ever going to have the future she had often dreamed about and wished immensely for. She wasn’t ever going to be going through baby books in search of that one name for her child. She wasn’t ever going to have that one, chanced meeting of her fated one and start down the path of true love.

No, Kagome wasn’t going to have any of that.

That bothered Kagome too much to ignore now. She had been able to because she had had her grandmother at her side to constantly remind her of her fate. Her grandmother had provided the companionship that Kagome needed and had been the one she turned to in need.

Now there was going to be no one to remind her of such things.

Now there was going to be no one to stop her . . .

Kagome felt a sudden burst of hope in her chest. When her grandmother died, Kagome would become the next head of her household. There was no one else to fight her for the position, no one else who could lay claim on that power. There was only Kagome who had been trained to take over if her grandmother died before she did.

And she was.

Her grandmother was dying right now.

If she so wished, Kagome could leave the moment her grandmother’s funeral was over. She would then be the head of the household and would have no one to stop her from escaping the estate.

But Kagome had nowhere to go, no other family to visit. While she knew she yearned freedom, Kagome knew that she would all too lonely if she had no family by her side like her grandmother had been. That loneliness would only chase her back to the estate and Kagome would feel defeated. She would not be able to help it. Kagome had been surrounded by familiar people all of her life, be it her grandmother or the servants that she called family. She would not be able to survive living in a new city with no one to help her and keep her company.

Kagome was just too scared to take that step alone.

“I hope you . . . do not hate me, Kagome . . . for lying.”

Kagome’s blue eyes widened greatly at her grandmother’s words. What on earth did she mean by that? What had her grandmother lied about? Why would Kagome hate her for it?

“Your mother . . . is alive . . . and you have . . . a brother.”

At that moment, within that single, split moment, Kagome could feel her heart twist and turn at those words. Betrayal, anger, hurt and happiness had all been sharps knives that dug into her skin and made her bleed. Her mother hadn’t died at childbirth? And she had a brother? What of her father?

“And Father?” Kagome breathed, hope fluttering about in her heart.

Her grandmother gently shook her head. “No. He died as I said he did.”

Her grandmother’s words had killed the hope Kagome had for her father but Kagome did not let that bother her. She knew that it had been a long shot. Nothing more and nothing less.

But her mother was alive.

And she had a brother.

A brother.

What was he like? What sports did he enjoy playing? Or was he more bookish like she was? Did he look like their father? Wait. Did they even share the same father?

Kagome had so many questions that demanded answers.

She was determined to get those answers.

“Grandmother,” Kagome started, her hands gripping her grandmother’s aged hands tightly. “Where are they?”

Her grandmother’s eyes were closing all too soon and her breathing was becoming shallow. Kagome could feel those answers that she needed, that she wanted dying within her grandmother’s mouth. If those answers were to die with her grandmother, it would kill Kagome. She would not have to worry about the jewel killing her.

“Grandmother, please.”

“Tokyo . . .”

That was not enough. Kagome needed more.

“Where in Tokyo, Grandmother? Where?” Kagome asked desperately, barely restraining her urge to shake the woman’s shoulders.

“ . . . Higurashi Shrine.”

Kagome sighed in relief and imprinted that name into her mind.

Higurashi Shrine.

Higurashi Shrine.

Higurashi Shrine.

That was the place she would find her mother and her brother . . .

There, she would find her family.

All she had to do was wait.

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Kagome did not have to wait for long. Her grandmother had died the following day just minutes after dawn. All the servants had been crying and kneeling by her grandmother’s bedside when Kagome came to talk to grandmother again. That was when she was hit with the fact that she had waiting for her grandmother to die, that she had wanted her grandmother to die.

But who could blame her?

The woman, while being her mother figure and giving her love, had also been her warden. She had been the person that had given the orders that Kagome was to not leave the estate and was to be kept away from all people. She had been the person that had isolated her from society and kept her from any kind of human contact that was not from a maid.

Her grandmother had been the one to take her freedom away from her.

Not only that but she had lied to Kagome about her mother. She had told Kagome that her mother had died giving birth to her, that Kagome had been the one to kill her mother, her grandmother's daughter-in-law. She had made Kagome believe that she had no other family beyond the estate. She had made Kagome believe that she would be forever alone.

But no more.

Now Kagome knew the truth.

Her mother was alive and Kagome had a brother.

She had family, family that she fully intended to get to know and love.

Smiling to herself, Kagome turned away from the fresh grave and walked towards the car that awaited her.

Tokyo, Japan . . . Here I come!

A/N- Published on 1-4-14 with the length of 1,955 words.