DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha is property of Takahashi Rumiko.

Priestess

4.

Sun and moon, summer and winter, growth and decay, fire and water, and yin and yang. The world is full of opposites, existing in a carefully maintained balance, never crossing the line between that which is perfect and total chaos. Heaven and Hell, Life and Death, Immortal and Mortal… Holy and Tainted. That which is absolute and obsolete, that which is temporary and brief. Everything has its place in the world, everything has a role, every soul a job to do, a path to walk. Wars to win and fights to lose, to conquer and to fail, to climb high and to fall down once more.

During her year with Kaede-shishou Kagome has learned to respect the eternal cycle of the world, even if she couldn't fully grasp or understand it. In her time she knew the Christians had a saying: as it is in Heaven so shall it be on Earth. Well, for Kagome's reality, it was more along the lines of 'as it is in spirit so it shall be in body'.

For example: Inuyasha. His spirit was a scorching flame, powerful, untameable, dangerous. His body seemed equally as untameable in Kagome's eyes: powerful, dangerous, without limits.

Just over the outskirts of the Edo village Kagome had seen Inuyasha conquer Yura of the Hair – a full-blooded demon, self-proclaimed to be quite mighty, brought to heel and then destroyed, all by the combined effort of a green priestess and a 'filthy half-breed'. Not that there was much effort to it. Kagome saw Yura's hair, Inuyasha sniffed out the red skull from which she came. Smashing it and the comb hidden inside under Inuyasha's foot wasn't a task at all. Kagome hadn't even tried to step in. Inuyasha had it well in hand.

They'd met the kind and gentle Jinenji about a month after leaving the village. Another half-breed, but as different form Inuyasha as Kagome was from the village girls. Jinenji had physical strength, plenty of it, but Kagome quickly decided it was just a reflection of his loyal and steadfast spirit. She felt it in the way his youki cautiously glided over her skin, brief and polite and oh-so-hesitant. Jinenji was soft. He was a healer, through and through, not a warrior's bone in him. Under duress he would fight, like all living creatures, but even that he'd only do if there was something to protect. Someone to protect.

The longer they travelled, the more curious Kagome became about why Inuyasha was so different from others. He was stronger, by leaps and bounds, than all the hostile demons they've encountered. Humans were, naturally, unable to compete with him. Even on his human night – a deeply cherished secret he'd only shared with Kagome three months into their quest, and only because he had no choice, Inuyasha was stronger than the average man. Sometimes he seemed almost invincible, his unconquerable spirit the stuff of legends.

Kagome briefly wondered just who his parents were, to have produced such a son. Her reiki and her shards hummed in contentment that he was their ally, that he protected her, but they whispered of other types of strengths. Hidden depths of power and ones quite plainly seen that Inuyasha didn't have. They warned her, on the nights Inuyasha stormed off after a snappy argument, or just needed space, that Kagome should always be wary. That out there, in the vast world under Kami's influence, existed beings that could squish Inuyasha like a bug. No effort, no thought spared.

Kagome didn't believe them. Couldn't, really.

And then they met Inuyasha's brother, pureblood demon brother, older brother.

The Ino-no-Taisho's grave was an unsettling thing in an unsettling place. Even after Kagome decided to discard the sheer size of the carcass aside, the still lingering mass of youki made her feel… heady. Dizzy, dazed, drunk off her ass, almost like that time Eri-chan sneaked her parents' sake into their slumber party, back when Kagome was fourteen. Only this feeling was not at all good.

The Inu-no-Taisho's youki was oppressive. The mighty demon of old most certainly didn't rest in any sort of peace. His spirit was angry, restless, perpetually stuck on the brink of an explosion. It was resentful, filled to the brim with sorrow, drowning in hopelessness and regret. Throughout were sharp shards of a once indomitable will, rendered to ashes of defeat.

It was quite obvious he'd not died peacefully, and long before his time.

This wasn't what made Kagome uncomfortable, though.

Inuyasha's brother did.

The demon claimed their sire was the strongest creature to ever walk the earth. He repeatedly accused Inuyasha of being a stain upon their glorious line of warriors, each more powerful than the last, until it culminated in the Inu-no-Taisho, and presumably ended there. It was a hard case of father-complex and hero worship if Kagome had ever seen one. It was also so far off the mark it was almost funny.

This firstborn of the Inu-no-Taisho? He was powerful. Beyond powerful. So far over the line of what should be possible, of what strength should be available to those who aren't gods, that it was a wonder the world didn't tremble at his feet. It was a dormant power, Kagome could taste the drowsiness of it, the slowness and sluggishness, like overly-thick honey, on the back of her tongue. She could practically envision it: a ginormous feline, or perhaps a bear, deep in hibernation, unwilling to be woken. But should it wake, she had no doubt it would be a spectacular thing to behold. If it wasn't harnessed to kill her and hers. Also, preferably, from a safe distance, behind several of the strongest barriers in the world.

Kagome's reiki rolled up into a tight little ball, right behind her heart, and thrummed in sync with her breathing. It almost felt to be meditating, gathering itself and preparing to defend its mistress and its charges – the shards, of course, but Inuyasha, too.

Because brash as he was, Inuyasha was Kagome's now. He stayed with her out of his own free will, hunted for her, kept her safe. He'd sucker-punched a rowdy villager on his last human night because the man tried to grab Kagome. This first punch was returned, and it soon developed into an all-out brawl, including half the village, out of which Inuyasha emerged victorious, with a black eye and bleeding lip. His fiery spirit always came out on top, no matter the state of the moon.

Now, though, as Kagome breathed in the spirit of his brother, she was suddenly quite aware of the fact Inuyasha's fire could, in fact, be put out. Completely trampled and extinguished. All it would take was for his brother to wake up, to lose control, to do that one unknown thing which kept his power out of his reach.

Kagome wasn't willing to risk him figuring it out in these circumstances.

So, deliberately and consciously, with determination and intent, she stomped over to the rusted sword. She ignored the brothers, who were arguing and throwing insults at each other – one profane, the other sophisticated. She ignored how her reiki froze, as if it couldn't quite believe she would dare do it. She ignored how the shards almost seemed to cackle, for some reason bursting with glee. Without second thought or hesitation, Kagome reached over, grabbed the sword, and pulled it out.

"There." She announced proudly and brought the blade closer for inspection. "Now, what's so special about you, huh, ugly?"

There was a crash, something cracked, but Kagome couldn't be bothered to turn and look. The sword was fascinating. When she touched it with her reiki it responded, releasing its own brand of spirit, much like the remnants of the one belonging to the Inu-no-Taisho, but also deeply reminiscent of somebody else. Someone very familiar.

"K-Kagome," Inuyasha sounded winded, as if he had the breath knocked out of him.

"Not now, Inuyasha." Kagome shushed, "I'm studying."

"Oi, wench, you really need to put the sword down."

"No way, it's cooperating." Kagome argued back, "it's like the blade's alive, and almost coherent. It has a spirit of its own. Very strange. Are all demon weapons of this calibre?"

"No."

The word was spoken coldly in a deep, unfamiliar baritone, and from directly behind her. The hairs on Kagome's nape rose up in agitation and her reiki sizzled, frantic and worried, but other than that Kagome refused to show any sign of fear. She clamped down on her emotions with an iron fist, exhaled a breath she'd held in a second too long, and brought the sword closer to her face, running one palm over the blade.

"Huh." Kagome nodded. "Fascinating. What makes it different than others? Is it the youki, or the material? Or are they one and the same?"

"The later." Inuyasha's brother replied stoically, but Kagome could sense a flicker of surprise in his massive aura. She'd continued on with her examination rather than tremble before him, and it surprised the overpowered douchebag.

"But that makes no sense." Kagome said flatly and turned around, shoved the sword right under Sesshomaru's nose and waved it a little recklessly. "It had two completely different spirits in it. Obviously, the dominant one is the Inu-no-Taisho – I can sense the same power in these bones. But the other one's still there." Kagome huffed and put her free hand on her hip. "Man, I could've sworn I felt it somewhere before. It's so familiar! Hey, Inuyasha! Take a sniff and tell me what you find!"

"I ain't your hound, woman – oi! Sesshomaru! What the hell, you bastard?!"

'Sesshomaru,' Kagome thought numbly, 'it fits like a glove.'

The Killing Perfection had grabbed hold of her wrist, pulled her arm higher so that the sword was comfortably close to his face, and sniffed at it himself. Then he did it again, this time taking a much deeper breath and holding it in for a full minute. His golden eyed reddened, he leaned lower, pressed his nose against Kagome's wrist and inhaled so sharply, so deeply, it almost felt a little… obscene.

Kagome's brain immediately short-circuited at the unexpected touch and she'd dropped the sword. Sesshomaru didn't even look its way, instead he locked eyes with her and frowned.

"What are you?" the demon asked, genuinely curious rather than hostile like before.

"A human priestess." It was a stupid question with an obvious answer, but Kagome wasn't about to disrespect someone who could squish her underfoot with zero effort. At least not quite yet.

"No," Sesshomaru contradicted and took another whiff of her. "Priestess, yes. Human, no."

"What the hell are you on about?" Inuyasha was suddenly much too close behind Kagome, his hands firmly planted on her shoulders, as if he were ready to whisk her away at any moment. "Kagome's human. She just smells weird."

"There is no decay on her." Sesshomaru said flatly. He'd finally released her wrist, straightened, and took a graceful step back. "This woman smells too clean, too pure, to be wholly human."

"Well, be that as it may," Kagome managed to grouse out, "all I've ever known myself to be is human."

'And I bathe every day you prick!' she thought furiously, 'you bet your furry ass I smell clean! Jerk.'

Sesshomaru eyed her up, as if Kagome were a piece of meat, before obviously losing interest in the topic.

"You may keep the sword, half breed." Sesshomaru intoned emotionlessly. "Like your self, it is filthy."

"Filthy?" Kagome snorted. "I mean, sure, there's a bit of rust on it, but I wouldn't call it filthy."

"It is contaminated with a human's touch." Sesshomaru sneered and leveled Inuyasha with a cold look. "Your whore mother's hair makes up the handle."

Internally, Kagome groaned at that little proclamation.

Externally, she quickly removed herself from the immediate impact zone and then continued on. She climbed out of the Inu-no-Taisho's belly, skidded down one of his arms and settled comfortably in the crook of his elbow to wait for what would inevitably turn into a massive beat down to be over and done with.

If there was one thing Kagome had come to know about Inuyasha, it was that he loved his mother more than any other son out there. She'd personally seen him meticulously gathering fresh, beautiful blooms and delivering them to the woman's hidden grave twice a year – on the date of her death and her birthday. The last time he did it, Inuyasha had let her tag along. He never spoke about his mother and revealed no information about her, but the tender way he cleaned up the black gravestone, and the softness in his eyes when he offered the flowers, spoke for him.

Whatever else he may have done, Sesshomaru wouldn't be forgiven for insulting Inuyasha's mother to his face.

As if to echo her thoughts, Sesshomaru exploded out of the Inu-no-Taisho's carcass, a furious Inuyasha hot on his heels. In Kagome's arms, the rusted sword seemed to pulse with intention, as if it wanted to pitch into the fight and aid one of the brothers against the other.

Most likely Inuyasha.

'Hell no.' Kagome thought and shoved a hefty amount of her reiki through the blade. 'This is between them, and you're gonna sit it out. Just like me.'

And hopefully, no one would die.