Summary: Kikyou has been laid to rest, eliminating one of Naraku's... "problems." However, while consulting Kanna's mirror he stumbles upon a startling secret of the Shikon no Tama. He has all the details ready to finally complete the Shikon no Tama--but why does it include Kagome? What is this horrible secret of the jewel?

The Shikon's Secret

It was like any other day, honestly. The sky was periwinkle blue, the grass was green and slightly damp from the morning dew, and for once there was peace amongst the group.

Kagome's brown eyes idly drifted to catch a glimpse of the inuhanyou in front of her. The ears on his head twitched anxiously, as if sensing that he was being watched. Or maybe he was trying to figure out a sound. As much as she'd like to know, Inuyasha was a mystery to her.

Little did she know that she was as much a mystery to Inuyasha.

However nice the day was it always seemed to come to an abrupt halt, and today was no different. Startled by a rather strong pulsation coming from the center of her chest, resounding with the shards around her neck, Kagome immediately froze and turned sharply to the east.

"I sense the presence of a Shikon shard."

The whole group came to a stop as those words, their attention solely on Kagome.

"Do you know how many, Lady Kagome?" Miroku asked.

For a moment she was quiet, staring into the unseen distance as she probed around for the answer. "Three. And they're coming our way fast!"

With a slight scraping noise the Tessaiga was unleashed and Inuyasha was ready for battle. "Get ready."

Kagome drew her bow and, with the utmost precision, drew a bow from behind her. Placing it carefully with the bow and pulling back, she began to charge it with energy. Somewhere to her left she heard Kirara transform, and she knew that Sango was ready, too.

With an earth-shaking roar a large bear youkai appeared, baring its teeth as it tensed up, ready to attack.

"Bastard," Inuyasha growled, raising Tessaiga for an attack.

A stronger pulsation washed over Kagome, making her nearly stumble from it.

"Kagome!" Sango cried, glancing over at her friend while remaining on the ready. "Are you okay?"

Kagome immediately straightened up and reclaimed her shooting position. "I sense more Shikon shards! It's not just fragments, though; it feels like the real thing!"

"Naraku," Inuyasha turned, raised Tessaiga again, and brought it down roughly to the right of him. "KAZE NO KIZU!"

"Ku ku ku," Naraku chuckled, leaping from the forest as it was annihilated below him. "Such recklessness will cost you, Inuyasha."

"Bastard, what do you want?" Inuyasha bit out harshly. He was distracted, however, by the bear youkai attacking, one large paw knocking Sango against a tree, out for the rest of the fight. "Dammit!"

"Go!" Kagome released the purification arrow, tensing as she traced its path right until it lodged itself firmly into the youkai's left eye.

"Kazaana!" Miroku had taken post in front of the unconscious Sango and released his fatal air rip. A quick release of Saimyoushou via Naraku soon put a stop to that, though, and he quickly closed it, taking the time to instead put up a barrier to protect the demon slayer.

Kagome grit her teeth and notched another arrow. Pulling back and feeding it more energy she knew that this one would be powerful. "GO!"

The arrow was released, soon turning into nothing but pure blue-purple energy, giving the impression that it was on fire. It sped towards the youkai and, much to the relief of Kagome, hit its mark: the youkai's heart.

With a pain-filled cry the youkai dropped dead on the spot.

Naraku smirked. It didn't surprise him that Kagome would be able to kill the bear youkai; he had planned it that way. He knew that Kagome's powers were amplified when she was distressed over her friends.

"And as for you…" Inuyasha's full attention was on Naraku now, eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

"Back down, Inuyasha," Naraku's smooth voice was mocking, "I have come for what I needed. Rest assured I will be back." His gaze drifted over to Kagome and a smirk appeared on his lips. "I will be back."

"You filthy…! KAZE NO KIZU!" Another burst of wind rushed forward to attack Naraku, only to tear apart one of his many dolls. "Dammit!"

"Sango!" Kagome rushed over to aid her friend, checking her pulse and the like. "She'll be okay," Kagome announced, "She'll just have a nasty bump on her head, maybe a few bruises, but other than that she's fine."

Miroku carefully lifted the demon slayer up and settled her onto Kirara's back. "Why don't we find camp for the rest of the day?"

Kagome nodded and made a little sound of approval. "We haven't visited Kaede in a while, why don't we go there? I need to replenish my herbs, anyway."

Inuyasha sighed but agreed anyway. "Alright, let's go."

Once Kagome was settled on Inuyasha's back, Sango secured on Kirara, Miroku's hands secured by Shippou's supervision, they were off.

"Hello, Grandmother Kaede!" Kagome greeted cheerfully.

"Hello again, child," the old woman replied, "It has been a while since you've been back."

"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled, walking into the hut and settling down in a corner nearby.

Soon after Miroku, under the watchful eyes of Shippou, came in, carrying the still unconscious slayer.

"Good heavens, what happened to her?" Kaede asked, pulling some medicinal herbs close to her in preparation for a healing tea.

"Naraku," Kagome replied, "He came and attacked with a bear youkai. It hit Sango into a tree."

"By the way, Lady Kagome," Miroku spoke suddenly, settling himself down on the ground as well, "Shouldn't you add those Shikon shards with the others?"

"Ah! Thank you, Miroku." Kagome fished said fragments from her pocket and retrieved the small glass bottle from around her neck. After assuring herself that the new fragments were purified she carefully slipped them into the bottle, taking a moment to watch them twinkle faintly in the firelight.

Kaede watched the young miko carefully as she did this, a frown making itself apparent on her face.

"What's wrong with you, hag?" Inuyasha's gold eyes glowed in the darkness, annoyance evident.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said quietly, shooting the half ling a purposeful look.

"Feh."

"Nothing is wrong, Inuyasha," Kaede replied, finishing up her medicinal tea and handing it to Miroku since he was closest to the slayer.

Miroku gratefully took the drink and with the utmost care tipped the cup's contents into her mouth.

Kagome idly watched the pair out of the corner of her eye, watching how Miroku obviously took such care because of his love for the slayer. Holding back from sighing, Kagome retrieved her math textbook from her bag and, with much reluctance, began to work on her math homework.

"Why do you do that stuff, anyway, wench?"

Kagome didn't even bother to look up, only continued to write and solve. "I have to, Inuyasha. If I had a choice I wouldn't."

"You always have a choice."

"Not when it comes to education. I'll need this to get a good job, make good money, take care of myself…" Her voice trailed off as she began to nibble on her lower lip, a particularly nasty equation making itself known.

"Why do you need all that stuff, anyway?"

"If I don't graduate from school I can't get a good job. If I can't get a good job I can't make good money. If I can't make good money I can't take care of myself. If I can't take good care of myself I'll end up homeless and poor and I'll be forced to live on the corners of streets and beg for money."

This thought shocked Inuyasha. "What!"

Kagome leaned back and set her pencil down, hands folded carefully in her lap as she wondered how to explain it to the hanyou. "In my era… if you don't have a good education it affects what kind of job you get. Certain jobs have certain benefits and certain pay. The more money you have the better your lifestyle: you could buy a nice house in a nice, safe neighborhood; you can buy enough food to keep your stomach full. The less money you have the worse off you are, sometimes even being forced to live in really, really bad and dangerous areas. If you don't have even the minimum amount of money and you can't live out on your own you'll be forced to live out on the streets since you can't afford anything else. Then you have to resort to begging for money."

"That's awful!" Shippou cried dramatically.

Kagome offered the kit a small smile. "Yes, it is. Unfortunately my era is ruled by money… and because of that many of my people are homeless."

"Why not stay with your parents?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.

Kagome laughed. "People can't live with their mothers forever, Inuyasha. Eventually you have to get out and experience the world, no matter how scary it is." She picked back up her pencil and resumed working.

The unsettling thought of Kagome's fate was dominate in everyone's mind.

"Kanna," Naraku commanded, "Come here."

The white child appeared suddenly from the shadows, hands cradling her elegant mirror. "Yes, Naraku?"

"Show me the girl."

The reflection in the mirror shifted and soon Kagome's face, lips puckered slightly in determination from some pesky math problem, appeared.

Naraku studied the girl for a minute and then spoke again. "Show me the Shikon no Tama."

The reflection shifted again to show a split image: one of the nearly completed sacred jewel in Naraku's chambers, one showing the remaining fragments in Kagome's glass bottle.

Something about the Shikon no Tama bothered Naraku, but he could not figure it out.

"Show me Kikyou."

The undead priestess' face appeared in the mirror.

"Is she a threat?"

"Yes," Kanna replied, her voice whispery.

"Is she a very important threat?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"If not eliminated now she will aid in your destruction. She is more powerful than you think, even with her soul split in half."

Naraku went quiet for a moment. "How can I destroy her?"

The mirror turned show the hanyou a vision of a cliff overlooking a large, steaming pool of water.

"These hot springs are sacred," Kanna explained quietly, "The holy powers in them purify anything… anything that has darkness in its heart. Kikyou still carries the hatred for Inuyasha and the jealousy of Kagome. This is enough to taint her. If wounded and thrown into the springs she will be purified and destroyed since the only thing keeping her in this world is her hatred."

The corners of Naraku's mouth curled up in an ugly smirk. "Perfect."

to be continued