A Truth Revealed by CiraArana

A Truth Revealed

A/N: I wrote that last night in a storm of inspiration. It's probably stupid, but it didn't leave me alone. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

I have always known. Since the first time I saw you I have always known that you were not what you seem to the eyes of the world. I have always known what you are.

I have always known that you are mine.

You have never been that fragile human girl the world believed you to be. Ah, they have seen strength in you. Power. Courage. But never have they seen you. You as you really are, as you really were, as you have always been and will ever be. Nothing can ever change you. Nothing will ever change you.

No, behind that mask of the human girl you have always been... mine.

And I have known. You may think I tried to kill you. You may think I tried to harm you. Do you really think that is true? No, you don't. You could not.

I did what was necessary. I did what I had to do. I had to form you, wake you up to your true self. You could not have lasted had you not been strong. You needed the fight, the danger, the exhilaration, to grow.

I put you through many hardships. You never complained. You never failed. You always emerged stronger than you were before. Each time you grew a little more into the creature I knew you were behind your mask.

Why have they never seen what you are? Sometimes I wonder at the blindness of the world. It did not see what it did not want to see. Yet this does not make it less true.

What did they see in you? A radiant smile and a compassionate heart. Strange antics and a quick temper. Courage, a sense for disaster, and great power. A strange human girl from the future. Oh, how ironic!

They have never seen beyond the surface. Else they would have known. They did not see the fire in your soul. They did not see the extent of your power, a power far too great for a simple human. They caught a glimpse of it, yes. But instead of understanding they turned a blind eye on it, lying to you, keeping you in the dark. They said you were a strong miko. Fools that they are, they have never been so wrong before.

Yes, they have kept you in the dark, afraid to look deeper, to maybe see the truth hidden under the layers of lies. Thus you have wandered unknowing. Until today. Until today changed the world. Until the lies were confronted with the truth and you stepped out of the darkness of your fake existence into the light of your true nature.

They grieve for you, not understanding. There they huddle, on the bloodied battlefield, hunched over your empty shell. They weep, they mourn, they curse the cruelty of fate. They cry to the heavens why you have to be taken away from them. Now, that you have finally reached the end of your ridiculous quest for a worthless piece of glass. Did you not know what it was?

No, of course not. You did not know.

Could you not sense the truth? Sometimes, along the way, when your eyes met mine, I thought I saw the flicker of knowledge in their depths. There sometimes was the faint hint of... presentiment in your gaze. And I wondered whether you really didn't know, or if, somewhere deep inside of you, you were able to see past the lies that cloaked you.

Yet you never gave a sign. You never let me know. Well then, maybe the net of lies was too tight.

But today all lies end. They end with the battered form of your body. They end with your mourning friends. They end at Tenseiga's tip.

Your friends stiffen as I come closer. Their red eyes look at me apprehensively. They still try to protect you. How utterly foolish.

I sneer at them as I come to a stop next to your lifeless body. They bristle, and my brother even rises to fight me. I have no time for this. Ah, how they flinch as my hand caresses the hilts of my swords. They expect me to draw Toukijin.

How their eyes widen when instead I chose Tenseiga!

They gape at me incredulously. Astonished. Thankfully.

Do they really believe I am doing this for their sake?

They scuttle back to allow me space to swing my sword. As I tighten my grip on the hilt they fade into my view: the creatures from the Other World. I brandish the sword, slicing the little imps, and they evaporate in the blue light of Tenseiga's power.

The little pink glass ball in your hand shatters.

I hear the cries of your friends. They are shocked and angry. They blame me. Their inane yells stop as the small fragments begin to glow and seep into your body.

Suddenly there is silence. We all watch.

As the last fragment melts into your flesh your skin starts glowing. The changes begin. Visible only for my eyes at first, but soon those companions of you see as well.

Your features change. They become more delicate and distinct. Your hair grows and black becomes midnight-blue. The colour of you skin washes away, leaving you so pale that the blue lines of your veins are clearly visible. Your body changes as well. Where you have been a promising girl before, you are now a slender, graceful woman with pliant curves. Beauty incarnate.

Slowly the glowing fades away. Nobody moves. We see the movements of your breasts as you draw breath. I can even hear your heart beating. We know you are alive once more.

You sit up and your friends dash to you, flocking around you, babbling and sobbing. You get to your feet, a bit shakily at first, but soon your footing is safe. As you straighten your friends slowly fall silent. They gape at you in horror.

You turn your head and our eyes meet. There is wonder and dawning recognition in yours.

A slow smile tugs on your lips, and in the azure depths of your eyes I see that finally you know.

I hold out my hand to you and you step over to me and take it, your smile widening and showing your fangs. You are beautiful, my love.

Our hands entwine and suddenly your powers flare up. A loud, fierce cry to the unseeing world that you are back, that you are alive, and that you finally are what you were meant to be.

You died as a human. You live as a demoness. Welcome home, Kagome.