Another one
(slightly yuri)
For Love
Kagome sat in the lee of the shadow of the great old tree, lost in sad thoughts. The soft sound of a footfall roused her from her deep contemplation.
“The usual then?” she asked softly, addressing the person behind her without turning around.
“Yes,” Kikyo replied, “I have need of your strength again.”
For a moment longer, Kagome let herself look away at nothing, tucking her private thought deeper into her mind where her soul twin could not easily reach them. She stood and faced the dead miko, dreading and anticipating what came next.
As mirrors images of each other, they reached for the other’s shoulders and pulled her close. As one they locked their arms about the other’s waist, bringing their faces together until their breaths mingled. In perfect harmony, each tilted her head to her right and joined her lips together with the others.
The crackling pink aura of their purifying powers enveloped them like a small hurricane, dancing about them in a whirl of agitated excitement. Within the eye, all was quiet and still except for the slight movement of their bodies as each yielded that last inch of resistance against the other.
The halves of the souls inside each of them writhed and fought against the other, repelled by the purity and determination of the other half.
Kikyo’s hatred.
Kagome’s love.
For a moment, the struggle was even, the balance between them perfect. For a moment, they stood joined as equals, as rivals, as sisters.
Then the balance of power shifted. Kikyo’s absolute belief in her purpose dug deep and ruthlessly exploited Kagome’s doubts in herself.
Inch by tantalizing inch; Kikyo’s hatred won.
Again.
Kikyo’s arms around Kagome caught the girl as the dead miko cradled her again her body. Never breaking the kiss, Kikyo stole away Kagome’s breath, drinking deeply of the girl’s life energy. With awkward gentleness, Kikyo eased Kagome’s lax form onto the grass. She broke off the kiss, obvious regret written across her face.
“Not yet,” she commented softly with an edge of disgust to her voice. With unconscious tenderness, she brushed Kagome’s hair out of her eyes. Sitting down beside the sleeping girl, Kikyo waited for her to wake.
Kagome blinked as she came to, turning her head slightly to meet Kikyo’s steady gaze. Her dark eyes clouded over with realization and disappointment.
“Not yet,” she said regretfully in eerie echo of Kikyo’s earlier words.
Kikyo merely nodded in affirmation, her eyes never leaving Kagome’s face.
“Are you alright?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” Kagome replied, then winced as she sat up and a headache immediately started throbbing at her temple. “Or rather, I will be in a couple days.”
Kikyo nodded again, as if this was the response she had expected. She stood, gathering the bow and quiver of arrows she’d set aside. Walking a short distance away, she paused in the sunlight and half turned to meet Kagome’s eyes.
“Again?” she said; her question more of a statement than a query. A ghost of a mocking smile lit her face as she regarded the other girl.
“Again,” Kagome replied, an underlying tone of steely determination in her voice.
For the briefest of moments, Kikyo’s face softened into a sorrowful, wistful smile.
“You almost won that time,” she stated with obvious longing.
“I know,” Kagome responded, the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
“It’s so painful. How do you bear it?” Kagome continued; her voice low and intense.
Kikyo’s smile brightened until was an echo of her old, happy one.
“I believe in you,” she said simply. “I cannot love Inuyasha as I am now. It’s impossible. Nor can I become a part of you again without tainting you with my hatred.”
All of the cheer left Kikyo’s face as her expression became serious.
“Until your love for Inuyasha surpasses my hatred of him, I won’t surrender him to you,” she confirmed out loud.
“I’ll never let you take him,” Kagome shot back, her resolve as strong and as obvious as Kikyo’s.
A smirk of self deprecation settled on Kikyo’s face.
“Good,” she replied with grim approval. Without further adieu, Kikyo turned and left; her purpose for being there complete.
Kagome sat for a time longer, contemplating the sad fate of her miko twin. She shivered with revulsion as an echo of that enormous hatred rippled through her heart. To be able to bear the weight of that cold loathing and yet retain control; to be able to feel all that pain and yet make no complaint-Kikyo was amazing. Even as much as she wanted to destroy Inuyasha; she still loved him more.
She couldn’t be with Inuyasha the way she was now. She stayed away from him to keep herself from hurting him.
But she came to Kagome. One way or another, she would force Kagome to become strong enough to protect him; strong enough to overcome the hatred that Kikyo herself could not conquer.
Kagome shivered again, wondering if that day would ever come.
Until then, the wind whispered with Kikyo’s voice in her ear.
Until then, Kagome silently whispered back, her spirits lifting with fresh hope. If Kikyo believed she could do it, then she would. They would.
For Inuyasha.