Hoshi no Tama
Summary: Kagome comes across an unearthly white sphere while grieving the loss of Inuyasha. When Youko Kurama comes around for his hoshi no tama, Kagome agrees to give it back, but for a price. Youko will get his hoshi no tama back…if he'll help her finish the quest for the Shikon no Tama. Youko KuramaKagome, IYYYH
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Somewhere in the wilds of Warring States Era Japan, something was streaking through the forests. It was a silver something, with four streaming tails and a slender, triangular muzzle. It was a silver spirit fox. Of course, a silver fox that did not have nine tails was rather uncommon, but that was beside the point. It wasn't the size of a normal fox, no; it was much larger, so large that its head would be taller than a human's would. The fox leapt nimbly over a log, a felt pouch grasped in its maw. On closer inspection, its eyes were the blood red that youkai had in their in true form. Balanced and held between its four tails was a glowing sphere, swirling with white. It was the size of a tennis ball, and blended in quite well with the fox's silver coat.
A deep baying sound echoed throughout the forest and the fox sped up its pace, muscles bunching together and stretching under its brilliant coat. Several midnight black dogs appeared on the scene, snarling and barking after the fox. The fox turned its head and lifted one of its lips as if in a smirk. It darted underneath some brush, the plant life sliding out of its way before closing the path to the canines following it. They growled loudly in anger, before leaping over the brush and continuing with their chase. The sounds of the fox and its hunters faded, leaving behind a silent forest. In the brush, the sphere that had been held in the fox's tails shone in the dim light of the forest.
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Kagome screamed hoarsely, startling the entire camp into consciousness.
" Inuyasha!" she shrieked. Her blue eyes were wide, and tears started to fall out from her eyes, unnoticed. Her face was pale and heart pounded as her eyes continued to watch Inuyasha's death, over and over again. Sweat rolled down the side of her face and her hands clenched her bedding in fear.
" Kagome-chan!" Sango cried softly. She rushed to her friend's side and shook her shoulders gently.
" Kagome-chan, it's all right. Its over, see?" Sango said. Kagome's bright eyes focused but her trembling did not cease, as did not her tears.
" Sango-chan?" Kagome murmured. Miroku kneeled behind Sango, watching Kagome concernedly. Shippo looked up at the crying girl from his position on her stomach. His ears rang from her scream, but he ignored it.
" I dreamt of it again…" Kagome started. No one said anything while the girl hiccuped, trying to choke back her sobs.
" It gets worse every time. He jumps in front of me to save me, and all those tentacles just go right through his chest, all squirming like and coated with his blood. And then Naraku looks at me and grins. It's so awful and I never want to see it again, but its there, on the backs of my eyelids like someone taped it there. It's so horrible, and I just want it to stop so I never have to see it again!" Kagome cried. Sango frowned and hugged Kagome to her and rubbed her back soothingly.
" It's going to be all right, Kagome-chan. It just takes time," Sango replied. Kagome looked up at Sango tearfully.
" It never goes away, does it?" Kagome asked mournfully. Sango's lips pressed together in a thin line, but she shook her head in a negative.
" It will lessen, with time, and as new people come into your life, but the pain, the ache…it never really goes away," Sango sat back and let her eyes drift to the night sky.
" Sometimes, if I forget myself, when I'm all alone, the pain comes rushing back, and I can't help myself…" she smiled sorrowfully, " But you'll be all right, Kagome-chan." Kagome looked down at her hands, and tears slid down her face to splash on the back of her hands. Sango patted Kagome on her head affectionately.
" Try and get some more sleep, Kagome-chan. Everything is going to be fine," Sango said reassuringly. Kagome nodded and snuggled back into her sleeping bag as Miroku and Sango went back to their own separate bedding to settle back down for the night.
Kagome could not go back to sleep however. The dream, so like the real event, flashed in front of her eyes repeatedly, and sick feeling rose in her stomach. It had been another fight against Naraku, of course. Naraku had been about to piece the last of the jewel together after taking Kagome's shards. In a desperate attempt to stop him, she had shattered the jewel once more before he could wish on it. In his rage, Naraku had prepared to kill her in her weak moment, but Inuyasha had jumped in front of her, saving her life. Naraku had been shocked at first, before he cackled in glee at finally killing Inuyasha, the one who had been a thorn in his side for long. As his tentacles tore through Inuyasha's body, his blood splattered on to Kagome's face. It was a feeling she would never forget, Inuyasha's thick, hanyou blood sliding down her skin. Unbidden, more tears stung her eyes. Sniffling to herself, Kagome inched out of her sleeping bag and stood. 'I can't take this anymore…' Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows and walked off into the night, into the dark, looming forest. She stifled a yelp when something landed on either shoulder. On her right was Shippo, who was staring at her disapprovingly, and on her left was Kirara, who was mewing cutely.
" Kagome-chan, you know you shouldn't be leaving in the middle of the night," he scolded. Kagome pursed her lips.
" And you know you shouldn't be awake at this time of night. Go back to sleep, Shippo-chan," Kagome said. Shippo shook his head.
" Not unless you go back to bed too," he said stubbornly. Kagome sighed. She glanced at Kirara.
" I guess you're coming with us to make sure we don't get into trouble, right?" Kagome asked. Kirara mewed in confirmation. Kagome sighed again.
" Then let's go. I don't feel like sleeping right now," Kagome said. She started forward again, leaving the camp behind her.
The forest enveloped her, swallowing her into its depths. Kagome flicked on the flashlight she had remembered to bring. In the dark, the plant life seemed much more intimidating, but Kagome ignored it. She ambled through the forest aimlessly, taking caution to keep going in the same direction so as not to get lost. Every few seconds she would mark a tree with one of her arrows to keep track of her pathway. Still, even walking could not turn her thoughts from Inuyasha's death, and Kagome sucked in a deep breath to control herself. On reflex, she spread her senses, hoping to sense one of the many jewel shards. Instead, something else registered on her "radar". Curious, Kagome followed the feeling, taking care to mark all the trees on this new path.
The "path" was narrow, and was more of an animal trail than a human traveled path. However, Kagome noted the broken branches and twigs.
" It looks like something came charging through here," Kagome murmured. She continued onwards, her curiosity heightened. Kagome followed the strange thing she was sensing like she would a Shikon shard. It made her wary. What object was out there that was so similar to the Shikon no Tama that she would sense it? Kagome frowned. Surely it wasn't an object in the likeness of the Shikon no Tama? If that was the case, she had to take it, before Naraku became aware of its existence. Kagome's pace quickened.
However, something made her pause. When she flashed the light over the ground, she noticed some odd tracks. Kagome stopped altogether and kneeled down into the dirt to inspect the tracks closely. Most of them all looked the same, and closely resembled dog tracks, except much larger. However, amongst them there were a few tracks that hadn't been covered by the dog tracks. They were more slender, a little smaller, than the dog tracks, but no less canine. A fox, perhaps? Maybe a jackal, or some other similar canine. Kagome wasn't a tracker by any means, but any fool could see by the way the dog tracks covered the other ones, that the dogs were hunting the other animal.
" How terrible…" Kagome murmured. Then a thought struck her. What if the dogs had been hunting the other canine for that mysterious object? Kagome could feel it tingling just along the edges of her senses now; it was very close. Perhaps the canine had hid it from the hunting dogs? Kagome stood and dusted herself off. She then took off at a light jog, determined to find the mysterious object. On her shoulder, she could feel Shippo tense.
" I sense something familiar…" he whispered.
" It feels like the Shikon no Tama," Kagome said. Shippo shook his head.
" No. It's not anything like the Shikon. This is something more familiar to me, than it would be to any human or any other youkai," Shippo replied, " this is something only foxes would know." 'Fox?' " Hurry, Kagome-chan, and find it. If its what I think it is, it will prove to be invaluable to you." Kagome quickened her past to something faster than a jog, but slower than a run. She decided to slow down after she ran into a tree while not paying attention. She leapt over a fallen tree and continued on. It breath began to come out in light pants when she stopped.
It wasn't really a clearing, but the path had opened up a small bit, and branched off into several other animal trails. Kagome glanced around, spreading out her senses once more to find the direction of the object. She closed her eyes and raised her hand and pointed. She moved her arm until she found the most accurate direction. The object was so close it filled all her senses, and made it hard to find its direction. It was as if it was right under nose. Kagome opened her eyes and started off to the right. She stepped over some brush when something made her stop.
" Huh? What's this glow?" Kagome turned around and bent down. She placed her flashlight on the ground and reached into the brush, ignoring the scratches she gained on her hands as a result. When she pulled back her hands, there rested a glowing white orb. It was the size of a tennis ball, and it looked as if it the inside was swirling with fog. Despite the fact that the cool night air would've made it cool, it was warm to the touch, and looked like it was made of glass.
" Wow, it's so pretty," Kagome said in awe. However, what had her in even more awe were the power waves that rolled of it, caressing her aura gently. It shone with its own light, and Kagome was surprised nobody else had found the orb.
" I can't believe it. These things are so incredibly protected, it's a miracle you managed to find one, Kagome-chan," Shippo said in quiet reverence.
" What is it?"
" It's a hoshi no tama,"
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I know, I really shouldn't be starting a new fic, but I did, so too bad. This just popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. I did not make up the hoshi no tama. Its part of Japanese fox lore. I wanted to write a fic that involved Japanese fox lore, because to my knowledge, no one has ever done it before. You'll find out what a hoshi no tama is in the next chapter.