Hulk and His Priestess

Chapter 5 Conversation With the Other Guy

Hulk smiles down at Kagome, gently removing his hand from her grasp he runs a finger down her cheek.

"Pretty Pink Girl."

Kagome blushes and giggles, "Handsome Green Guy." She tells him.

Hulk's smile turns into a cheeky grin when she calls him that. Kagome reaches again for his hand, but all she can hold is one of his fingers in each hand. She'll make due with what she can.

"Okay, I wanted you to be here so I can help you too, now do me a favor and close your eyes."

Hulk does exactly as Kagome tells him to do. He doesn't understand it, but he trusts her completely, even more than Banner. He seems to always be at odds with Banner, the only thing right now they agree on is that it's in their best interest to stay with Kagome.

So Hulk sits there quietly with his eyes closed, waiting, for what he doesn't know. Suddenly he feels a warmth spreading through him and all of his anger begins to fade.

"Now, Hulk, tell me why are you so angry?" Kagome asks in a gentle voice.

"Puny Banner." Hulk says.

"Bruce, why are you mad at Bruce?"

"Banner no let Hulk out. Hulk mad."

"Oh, so, Bruce keeps you locked up too long so you're mad when you come out."

Hulk snorts in confirmation.

"Hulk do you know why Bruce keeps you locked up?"

Hulk shrugs.

"He's afraid, he's afraid you're going to hurt someone if he lets you out, but I think I know of a solution. Hulk where is Bruce right now?"

"Banner sleeping."

"So then Bruce has no idea what is going on when you take over. I can see why he's afraid."

Kagome's coment hurts Hulk, he begins to sulk and pull away, but Kagome won't let him.

"Pretty Pink Girl scared of Hulk?"

"No, never, but I can see why Bruce is. He doesn't like not knowing what's going on, do you think you can let him see what's going on. Because I know you know what's going on with him."

Hulk gives her a sheepish smile, like he's just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Hulk thinks about it for a minute, "No, Puny Banner!"

"But, Hulk Bruce is a part of you, just like you're apart of him. It isn't fair that you can see what's going on with Bruce, but you won't let him see you." Kagome tries to reason with the gentle giant.

Hulk huffs, but he agrees.

"Now let Bruce come back, and give him these memories, I promise I'll see you again soon. Just let me talk to Bruce."

Hulk sighs, he caresses Kagome's cheek once more then lets Banner take over. He begins to shrink down and Kagome grabs a blanket she had set aside and covers Bruce.

Bruce groans when he sits up He takes the blanket and wraps it tighter around himself. Looking around, he spots Kagome who gives him a warm smile. Bruce's eyes widen and he begins to panic.

"Kagome are you alright did the Other Guy hurt you?"

Bruce looks around frantically trying to see the destruction the Other Guy has caused. Seeing the panic on his face, Kagome rushes to Bruce's side and takes his face in her hands.

"Bruce, Bruce, calm down everything is fine, I'm fine. Hulk didn't hurt me, you have nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about, the Other Guy broke through my defenses and took over! What if he does it all the time now, I won't be able to hold him back!"

Kagome doesn't know what to do. With each passing second, Bruce is becoming more hysterical. The only thing that occurs to her, is to push her powers into him and try to ease his stress. Letting her hands glow pink, Kagome begins to pour her Spiritual energy into Bruce.

Almost instantly Bruce begins to calm down. His body begins to relax, and the tension in his muscles eases away. Taking a deep breath Bruce lets it out slowly , feeling his heart rate go back to normal. He looks up at Kagome who smiles at him.

"You alright now?" She asks.

Bruce nods.

"Good, now, Hulk, give Bruce the memories of what happened."

Bruce is bombarded with the memories of everything that happened from the time he blacked out until he woke up. He sees how gentle Hulk is with Kagome, how fond he is of her. He listens to their conversation.

"You really think the Other Guy is handsome?" Bruce asks, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

Kagome blushes. "Well, yeah I do, but I think you're handsome too."

Bruce blushes at her comment. "So you and the Other Guy had a conversation, that's unusual."

"I don't see why, he's actually a lovely person." Kagome says a little defensive, "Once you get passed his rough exterior."

"I don't understand, how did you get him to give me the memories."

"I asked him, that's the only way we're going to get anything resolved. Now I'm going to give you a chance to get dressed and then we'll talk about your memories."

Kagome gets up and leaves, once she's out of sight Bruce grabs the extra clothes he brought and gets dressed. As he dresses he goes over the memories that Hulk gave him.

"Okay, Kagome, you can come back now."

Kagome comes back and takes a seat on the mat again. "Alright so let's discuss what we have learned. Bruce, you can't keep Hulk locked up all the time, it's not good for him and it's not good for you."

"I have to, Kagome, he'll go on a rampage it I don't."

"Look through the memories, what did he say?"

Bruce pauses, "That he's angry because I keep him locked up."

"Exactly, he's angry and frustrated and the only way he can express that is by being destructive, but if you let him out more so he can stretch his legs, so to speak, he won't be so angry. I mean he was perfectly calm with me."

"That's because he likes you, and you have a calming presence. What am I suppose to do when I go back to New York and the stress of everyday life get to me?"

"That's what we're going to work on. By the time we're through you and Hulk will be in sync and you'll be able to change without needing a trigger. You have to understand, Bruce, Hulk is a part of you. You and he are two sides of the same coin. Once you both accept that, things will be a lot easier for you."

Bruce was having a hard time with that concept. He wasn't willing to accept that the Other Guy was actually a part of him. But he was willing to go along with whatever Kagome was going to teach him if it would help him get the Other Guy under control.

Kagome studies Bruce's face, she can tell he isn't convinced, "Bruce, you have to try and grasp the fact that you two are one being. To be quite honest, I think Hulk has always been with you. It's just since you're accident he can now manifest himself in the real world."

"What are you saying that I had a split personality?" Bruce asks a little indignant.

"Is it so far fetched, with the trauma that you suffered, tell me did you suffer from black outs as a child, especially during the abuse of you and your mother?"

Bruce thought about it, he really didn't like thinking of his past, but for Kagome he would. And as he thought about it, he came to realize that, yes he did.

The look on his face was all the answer Kagome needed, she nods her head. "I think that's all for today, I have to go to work tomorrow, so what I want you to do is come out here and meditate. Try to get in touch with Hulk if you can, if not then just enjoy the tranquility of the shrine. When I get back we'll continue, now let's have some lunch."

Bruce agrees and they both enjoy a quiet lunch together.