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The morning was brilliant. It threatened to be a hot day, however, but the sky was an amazing blue. A few dark clouds were gathering on the horizon, which was fine, because they looked like they might bring some rain to the badly parched land. Once again, the ground was getting dusty, and the rivers were lowering.
Kagome and Sango were washing in Kaede's hut, a simple sponge bath. They didn't want to use the water in the river where it was so low. Kagome had decided that she was going to bring Miroku and Sango over to her world for a shower in a day or two, as a surprise. She remembered how surprised InuYasha had been at everything in her world, and according to the hanyou, both Miroku and Sango had been the same.
Dressed again, Kagome pulled her hair back into a ponytail to get it up off her neck. She put on shorts and a tank with a short sleeved blouse over it. It promised to be hot.
Kagome glanced over her shoulder to see Sango pulling on her shirt. The terrible scar on her back had faded over time to a pale pink, no longer a lurid red. She wondered if she should mention it to her, maybe to make her feel better, but decided against it. She got that scar when her father was slain. She didn't want to remind her of that.
After they washed, they stepped outside, squinting in the bright sun.
"I wonder what we'll be doing today?" Kagome asked, shielding her eyes as she looked over the village.
Sango shook her head, "I'm not sure. I think InuYasha wanted to try and see if he could catch any scent or sign of Jemu."
"He's long gone," Kagome said quietly, "He's not stupid enough to hang around. Especially after that other man, that...Omek...told him to let me go."
Kagome suppressed a shiver. If Omek hadn't intervened, her friends would have found her, strangled to death on the path from the well.
Why on earth did Omek step in? she wondered, That was the name the little boy said he heard Jemu say, Omek.
Kagome smiled to herself, thinking about their return a few days ago. Mikado had dropped DarkWind off in his own village, and then brought Kagome and InuYasha back to Kaede's village. Mikado had gone inside to talk to Izumi.
Shippo had been the first to come running out of the hut, furious.
"You big jerk!" he yelled, launching himself at the hanyou, "You took off and didn't tell us where you were going! We looked for you forever!"
InuYasha blinked, and grabbed Shippo by the back of his shirt, holding him out at arm's length while the kitsune screamed and hollared.
Sango and Miroku came out, looking upset and put-out.
"Kagome, are you ok?" Sango asked, running up to Kagome. The two women hugged tightly, "I'm fine, Sango."
Sango lightly touched Kagome's cheek, wincing a little, but Kagome smiled, "It's not that bad, just a bruise."
Sango hugged Kagome again, then turned to InuYasha, angry, "Couldn't you have told us what you were planning on doing!?"
"Hey, I didn't know what I was planning on doing until I was doing it! And I wanted to move fast!"
"So we would have slowed you down, is that it!?" she demanded, shrilly.
"I never said that!" InuYasha yelled, growing defensive.
Miroku walked towards InuYasha, raising a hand, "Calm down, everyone, please."
Sango and InuYasha crossed their arms, angry.
Miroku, gently, cleared his throat, and said, "InuYasha, let me speak for everyone here when I say..."
In one swift move, he brought up his staff and clonked the hanyou over the head with it, "Don't you ever do anything that insane and inconsiderate again!"
"OW!"
"Did it occur to you that perhaps we were worried about Kagome as well, and would have wanted to be a part of rescuing her!?"
"Lay off! I did what I had to!"
"And once again you took off without considering anyone else! You didn't even do us the honor of telling us to our face, you scratched a message on a tree!"
Kagome blinked, half amused, watching InuYasha and the monk yelling at each other, face-to-face. It was such an odd thing to see, Miroku was ususally much too composed and quiet.
Sango sighed, " 'Calm down, everyone', he says."
Mikado walked out of Kaede's hut, shaking her head, "You two are going to wake the dead. Stop screaming, it's too early. Besides, you've all got a busy day ahead of you."
"We do?" InuYasha blinked at the Senmin.
"Yeeees," Mikado said, grinning like a demon, "You have to go to the village east of here, and help them with some demons that are giving them trouble."
"What!? What are we, exterminators?"
"Well...I am," Sango murmured.
"No," Mikado said to the hanyou, still grinning that creepy grin, "But what you are is in debt to me for going all the way down south and hauling your behind back up here, after searching for you for over a day at the behest of your worried friends. You'll pay off that debt by helping this village."
InuYasha growled.
"Oh come on," Kagome said to him, as the others went to retrieve some things, "It'll give you something to fight. You've been spoiling for a fight for a while now."
"Huh," he muttered, "You'd swear I sold all their belongings or something."
"InuYasha," Kagome smiled, "They're upset because they care. They care about both of us. If they didn't care, it wouldn't have mattered what you did."
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled again, rubbing his head lightly.
The village wasn't that far away, and it was a pleasant day for walking. Despite earlier hints, the day turned slightly cool, thanks to a small breeze that cropped up.
"What sorts of demons are we supposed to be dealing with, anyway?" Shippo asked, in Kagome's arms.
"Lad- ah...Mikado said they were powerful enough to be causing a great deal of trouble to the locals. They have a priestess there, though elderly, and she's having trouble keeping them away."
"Not your averge demons, then," Sango said.
"What's an 'average' demon anyway?" Shippo asked, jumping from Kagome's arms to the monk's shoulder.
Miroku chuckled, "A very good question, Shippo."
"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of them," InuYasha said, hands behind his head as he walked, "They said nothing about Oni." He glanced to his right, to look at Kagome, and blinked to see she wasn't there. He stopped, and turned, looking back the way they had come, lowering his arms, "Kagome?"
She suddenly knelt, "Oh! Shoe's untied!" She made a show of re-tying her shoe, hoping the hanyou hadn't caught the look on her face.
Priestess.
It suddenly came to Kagome, on the path. Why it hadn't really struck a chord with her before now, she didn't know. Unless it was just the entirety of what had happened. But now, back with her friends, it suddenly came to her.
Kikyo.
Jemu. Jemu had come to her, disguised, looking for the Shikon. Telling her to give Kikyo the Shikon.
Jemu was with Kikyo.
I have to tell him, she could be in danger. Jemu can't be trusted. Why would he be hanging around Kikyo? I don't understand.
"Kagome?"
A shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see him standing over her, a concerned look on his face, "You ok?"
"Oh sure, just had to tie my shoe!"
He studied her in silence as she slowly stood up.
"Alright. Well...c'mon."
"InuYasha..."
"Now what?"
Miroku and Sango had gone on ahead, and were looking back, politely waiting.
"I have to tell you something about Kikyo."
InuYasha instantly looked wary, like he was expecting some sort of trap, "...All right."
"When I was in the forest the other day, before Jemu showed up...Kikyo was there."
InuYasha watched her face, trying to read it, uneasy.
"She said that she told you to get me to bring her the Shikon."
He hesitated, then spoke, "Yeah, she did. But I told her no. I told her it was yours now."
Kagome smiled at him, feeling a warm sense of relief, no matter how foolish, that he was still taking her side over Kikyo, "Thank you. That's what I told her too, but..."
The smile left her face, "A man came up after and told me I had to give the Shikon to her. To Kikyo."
InuYasha frowned, "A man..."
"Who turned into Jemu."
InuYasha blinked, taking a step towards her, "Are you sure?"
"Definately. He had a hold of me when he turned. It was the same man. InuYasha...Kikyo might be in trouble. I think Jemu is hanging around with her."
InuYasha stared at her, like he had no idea what he was supposed to say, or do. The thought of Jemu near Kikyo was enough to give him a creepy crawly feeling.
"Can you smell her now?" Kagome asked, "Is she around here anywhere?"
InuYasha shook his head, looking around, "No, I haven't caught her scent since I talked to her last."
"We have to keep an eye out for her. I don't think Jemu will hurt her, but he might be using her somehow."
InuYasha sighed, "Yeah. Godsdamnit."
"Come on, Miroku and Sango are waiting for us."
Kagome walked past InuYasha, and he fell in step behind her.
"Is everything all right?" Sango asked, as they caught up.
Kagome wasted no time, "I think Jemu is with Kikyo."
Shippo, Sango and Miroku just blinked, startled.
Kagome explained what happened as they walked, and by the time they came into view of the village, everyone was agreed. If they saw, or had any hint of the priestess, they'd do their best to warn her, and to confront Jemu and kill him.
The village was large, and looked rather prosperous. There were three stores that stood open to the crowd as people came and went.
"This place has certainly grown since I was here last," Miroku remarked, looking around.
"You've been here before?" Sango asked him.
"A few times, yes. Master Mushu and I have come here to buy hard-to-get supplies. There is a priest here who sells powerful charms, and he and my Master often visited."
"While you chased the local women?" InuYasha asked, arching a brow.
Miroku laughed, "Sadly, no. Master Mushu usually had me cleaning out the barrels and things we would be taking back with us."
Sango smiled, looking at the stores, "Let's wrap this up quickly. I want to do some shopping."
Kagome blinked at Sango, "You do?"
Sango blushed prettily, "The last time I visited my village, Kohaku insisted I take my share of the village's earnings. I would have given you some, Kagome, but you said you still had a lot of money from the last time we were there."
"That's right, I do," Kagome smiled, "Well, a shopping trip should be fun, then!"
She scowled at the weed.
Izumi sighed, leaning back on her feet, where she knelt in Kaede's garden, drawing an arm across her forhead, wiping away the sweat there. Kneeling in the sun was hotter than she had expected.
Raising a hand, she blocked the sunlight from her eyes, gazing up at the blue sky.
I feel nothing. Amaterasu is mute to me. It's so strange, being in the full glory of the sun, and not sensing her presence at all.
She closed her eyes.
Izumi remembered the younger Senmin's words when she came to visit, shortly after it was discovered InuYasha had left on his own to find Kagome.
The news she ahd brought was devastating to her.
The Celestial Plane, under full attack by Keimetsu's forces.
Half of the palace, pulled down and destroyed! The outlying lands, burned! People, friends, dead.
Aratok was missing.
Kagura, at least, was safe. Mikado had been quick to assure Izumi of that, mentioning as well that the Wind Sorceress had been in the front line of defense, even when told by Mikado and others to leave. She had refused, standing strong against Keimetsu's forces, striking the enemy ranks again and again with her Dance of the Dragon, using her tornados to send them back, back, knocking them away again and again, until they grew weary, and were easily overcome by lesser soldiers.
"She's worried, though, about Aratok," Mikado said, "No one's heard from him, not a sign, not a feather. Kagura won't say anything, but she's constantly scanning the sky, looking for him."
Izumi had begged Mikado to let her know the moment any news of Aratok was available, and then she went out back, tearing into Kaede's garden with a savage vengeance.
Her fury was palpable, but she had no power to do anything. All she could do was throw things, or tear up blankets or door coverings. And since none of these things were hers, but Kaede's, she couldn't vent her fury and frusteration in that manner. So she turned her anger on the weeds.
"Lady Izumi?" came the old woman's voice.
"Back here, Lady Kaede, in your garden."
"You have a visitor."
Izumi blinked, looking over her shoulder, "A visitor?"
Kaede walked around the corner of her hut, followed slightly behind, by a shy Rin.
Izumi's face lit up, and she turned, holding out her arms, "Rin!"
"Lady Izumi!" Rin cried, beaming. She ran to Izumi, and threw herself into the woman's arms, hugging her as hard as she could.
"I'm so happy to see you!" Rin said, looking up at Izumi.
Then her little face crumpled, and she burst into tears.
"Rin! What's wrong?"
"I missed you so much!" Rin cried, clinging to Izumi, "I heard you died and I died too, inside! I thought I would never see you again and my heart hurt so much I thought I would just die!"
"Oh Rin," Izumi hugged the little girl, rocking her gently, "I was just...gone for a little while, that's all. I'm back now. It's ok, see? Don't cry, my dear one, don't cry."
Rin fought to get her tears under control, hiccupping a few times, before finally calming down enough to talk.
Her dark eyes looked up at Izumi, "Master Jakken says you're just a plain old human now, Lady Izumi. Is that true?"
Izumi smiled, smoothing back the little girl's bangs, "Yes, it's true. I'm a human. But I'm not "plain old' anything. We humans are better than that, aren't we?"
Rin sniffled, smiling.
"Master Jakken said you were going to go live in a human village now and just be a plain old human, and grow old and ugly and die. Lord Sesshomaru got angry at him, and put his foot on him and squished him a lot, until Master Jakken apologised."
Izumi half smiled at the image, but her smile faded at the memory of the demon lord's words to her on the beach.
"Are you going to live here?" Rin asked.
"I don't know," Izumi said honestly, "Perhaps. Hopefully I can find some way to get my powers back. If not...then...maybe I will live here."
"Well...wherever you live, can I come visit you?"
Izumi smiled at Rin, "As often as you want, dear. You are always welcome to visit me, you know that."
Rin smiled so sweetly, Izumi's heart gave a little lurch.
"Would you like to help me weed Lady Kaede's garden?"
"Oh yes, please, only...I don't know what to do."
"Kneel down here, by me. There. Now, do you see the little green shoots that look like this? With the little white puffy bit on top?"
"Yes."
"Take ahold of them down at the bottom, and gently pull them out. No, more gently than that, like this see? So you don't tear up too much ground. Yes, like that."
The little girl chatted happily away to Izumi as they worked side by side, telling her all about the latest news with Sesshomaru, Jakken, and Ah and Un.
"I saw Sokai the other day!" Rin said, looking up at Izumi.
"How is she?"
"Good! She lost some of her front teeth. I only lost one. But Sokai is growing in fangs!"
"Well, she is a demon, dear."
"I know, it just seemed weird to see. When she smiles, she has this little fang half down in her mouth, like a teeny tiny fish fang or something."
Izumi laughed.
"Fangs are kind of scary."
"Well, they can be," Izumi agreed, brushing the dirt off her hands, "But you have to look at the person that's doing the smiling. A lot of my closest friends have fangs."
Rin blinked at Izumi in awe.
"Lord Sesshomaru said that you were a Hand...Handmaiden of the sun goddess, Amat...Amat.."
"Amaterasu, yes. But that was before."
"What is she like?"
"Amaterasu?"
Rin nodded, wide eyed.
Izumi smiled, "She is wonderful. She is love and compassion and kindness and wisdom, all wrapped up in one. When I am near her I feel happy."
"Just like me and Lord Sesshomaru!"
Izumi half smiled. The demon lord's name was making her feel odd...she kept getting flashes of their last encounter. Of the harsh words he had said to her. Of her own anger directed at him. A bond had been broken, a break she regretted. She was surprised at how much she had come to enjoy the demon lord's presence, his personality, no matter how acidic it could be. She remembered the time she spoke to him in the forest, so tired, after Sango's return, and how, for the first time since she had met him face to face, she had suddenly realized that Lord Sesshomaru was a man. Not just the son of her dearest friend, all grown up, not just someone she dealt with because of this coming war, but a man in his own right.
A very exotic-looking, powerful, man.
A man who, she was starting to think, might be looking at her in a manner she was not completely used to.
Izumi had put it out of her head, not really wanting to think about that. Sesshomaru was her dearest friend's son. She had looked out to him when he had been a youth, keeping an eye on him as a favor to InuTashio.
She had never felt in any way, towards any man, other than friendship, or as a sister to a brother, the way she felt towards InuTashio. Any...interest...had been non-existant. Because she was completely and totally devoted to her Goddess.
But Sesshomaru had started making her feel...unbalanced. She never knew what he was going to do at any given time, and for her, that was odd. When they first met, she could tell what he had been going to do, or say, in any situation. But after a short while, she lost that ability with him. And certain things he said to her caused her to stop, to rethink what she had been going to say. He...confused her.
Well...no matter now, I suppose. she thought, After our fight, I doubt he will even speak to me again. I insulted him. To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't strike me for that.
"Lady Izumi?"
Izumi came back to the present, looking down at Rin, who was looking up at her with a slightly worried look on her face.
"Rin?"
"You were sort of...gone, for a minute there. You didn't hear me at all."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. Rin?"
"Yes?"
"Lord Sesshomaru knows you are here, right? You didn't...sneak off, or anything?"
As soon as she said it, Izumi felt foolish. Rin would no more sneak off on Sesshomaru than she would chew off her own arm.
"He let you come here?"
"Oh yes. I asked if I could visit, since we were here anyway, and didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, and he said yes. He made Master Jakken walk to the edge of the forest there, to make sure I got here safely."
By this time, Lady Kaede had come out, and had joined them, pulling up some vegetables and brushing the dirt off, putting them into a basket.
" 'Here anyway'? What do you mean? Is Sesshomaru in the forest near this village?"
Rin nodded, "Uh-huh!"
"Haven't ye sensed it, Lady Izumi?" Kaede asked, "The lord Sesshomaru has been in the forest surrounding this village for several days now."
Izumi sat up, peering past Kaede into the edge of the forest, as if she could see a tall, slender, silver figure.
There was nothing.
"I seem to have lost my ability to sense demons as well," Izumi murmured.
Why was Sesshomaru hanging around this village? For Rin? But why hadn't the little girl visited before now?
"Lady Izumi?" Rin asked.
Izumi looked down.
"Are you...I mean..."
"Go ahead, Rin."
"Well, when you had all your powers, you used to fight monsters and things. Lord Sesshomaru and Master Jakken never really talked about it in front of me, but I overheard some things. You were fighting a bad man, called Kei...Kee...anyway...now that you're a human...are you still going to be fighting him?"
Lady Kaede sat back on her heels, watching.
Izumi spoke carefuly, "I will, yes."
"But you might get hurt!"
"I might, yes," Izumi said softly, "But I will be very, very careful. And I have very strong friends, like InuYasha, to protect me."
"But why are you going to do it if you don't have any powers now?"
"Well...it's hard to explain...and maybe at your age, it's very hard to understand, but...when we do something we truly believe in, Rin, something that we believe in so much that it's a part of our very heart and soul...then stopping, just because we're not as strong as we used to be, is like a betrayal to ourselves. And to those we love. Can you understand that?"
Rin looked down at her knees, "I think so, yes. But I don't want you to be hurt, Lady Izumi. I don't w-want you to d-d-d.."
Izumi bent low, and pulled the little girl to her, and hugged her again, "I promise you, Rin, I promise you with all my heart and body and soul, that I will be as careful as I can. I won't do anything that's dangerous unless I absolutely have to. I will try every other way first. Because I don't want to make you sad, ever again."
She kissed Rin's temple, and the little girl squeezed her back, as hard as her little arms could.
"Remember you promised. Please remember."
"I will. I will always remember."
Rin knuckled new tears from her eyes, then looked up, and smiled, sniffling, "Ok then."
In the village, InuYasha and the others arrived, and started asking around. It was apparent they were very eager to have someone take care of the demon problems, and seeing that a monk travelled with them was more than enough.
Many villagers came out to complain about what the demons were doing to them.
"From what I can gather," Miroku said to the group after, "The demons aren't particularly strong or powerful. Even some of the stronger villagers here have managed to slay some. It's that there are quite a large number of them. They tend to come in a large group, overwhelming the defenses."
"Well, that's good, at least," Kagome said.
"However," Miroku said, "It causes a different sort of problem, to be honest. The four of us, trying to take out these demons, no matter how many, are only going to get in each other's way."
Everyone watched the monk.
"Kagome, why don't you and Sango go do that shopping you were talking about earlier, while InuYasha and I take care of these demons?"
InuYasha blinked, "Hey!"
Sango and Kagome looked doubtful, "Are you sure, Miroku?"
"I'm perfectly sure," he said, smiling charmingly, "And with Shippo to help, I'm sure we can easily take care of this."
Shippo puffed out his chest, feeling very big.
"Well...if you're sure," Sango said, glancing at Kagome. The other woman shrugged, as if to say, "I guess so."
"Go and have fun," Miroku said, waving them off, "We'll catch up with you once we've taken care of the demons."
Still not quite sure, the two women walked back towards the market area of the large village, glancing back now and then.
"Why the hell did you volunteer me for this, Miroku?" InuYasha complained, "And if there are more of us, the faster this will be over."
Miroku nodded, "Yes, and the faster the women will leave to return back to Kaede's village with us."
"Yeah, so?"
Miroku sighed, "I think Kagome and Sango should have a little time to themselves, don't you?"
InuYasha arched a brow, "What the hell does that mean?"
Shippo jumped up onto Miroku's shoulder, looking confused as well, "Are you saying Kagome and Sango are romantically involved?"
"No, of course not!" Miroku laughed, "But both women have had a bit of a hard time lately. And if it's one thing I know about women, it's that they enjoy just being with their women friends, talking, and occasionally shopping for themselves. Kagome has had a bad time as of late, and I think Sango would enjoy just shopping. She spends a great deal of her time fighting and worrying about us. I...would just like to see her relaxing a little, enjoying herself."
InuYasha grinned at Miroku, and the monk blushed slightly, "Stop grinning at me, you look like an idiot."
InuYasha laughed, "Alright, fine. Let's go see about these rampaging demons or whatever."
The two women browsed the stalls, peering at this and that. The colors of silks for sale were brilliant, the jewlery fine and sparkling.
"Wow," Kagome said, "I never thought to see such things for sale here in a village." To her they looked remarkably similar to things she often saw in center kiosks at the malls in her world. Necklaces, earrings, wonderful woven things.
Sango was running a long strip of violet silk through her hands, "This color is so beautiful."
Kagome smiled at her friend, "It would look beautiful on you, Sango."
The other woman blushed, and lay down the silk, "Thank you, but I'm not sure how well it would stand up the first time I threw Hiraikotsu."
"You don't throw it around constantly, Sango," Kagome said, picking up a strip of it again, and draping it over Sango's shoulder, "You could make a dress with this. A kimono, or a robe...even a blouse would be so lovely."
Sango smiled fondly at the other woman, "And where would I wear it?"
"Well...you could...at your village! The next time you go home for a visit!"
"I'm too busy making sure everything is going perfect. I'd ruin lovely silk like this," Sango smiled, taking the cloth from Kagome again, and folding it, putting it back on the wooden dowel.
"That reminds me," Kagome said, walking along and looking at some more things, "I'm bringing you and Miroku to my world in a few days, for a visit. You guys can have some food from my world, still hot, and showers and stuff."
Sango looked at Kagome, blinking, "Are you certain, Kagome? Your mother won't mind you just bringing us over?"
"Of course not! Mom would love to meet you all. She sort of met you during Hallowe'en, but that was such a crazy time. She'll make a nice big dinner with dessert and all the yummy stuff! Come on, I want to show you my room and my school and stuff."
"Well...ok," Sango said.
Kagome grinned, and walked on, pointing out some things.
It was a little while later, when Sango was looking at some earrings, that her eyes fell on the box.
It was sitting back on a shelf, but a sunbeam struck it, making it shine. She reached up, and picked it up, looking at it closely.
It was a wooden box, about six inches long and 4 long, about 3 high, with mother-of-pearl inlay in the shape of waves of water on a rocky shore. It was a little dusty, and she brushed it off, blowing the dust free.
Her fingers moved over the edges until she found the latch, and she opened it.
Inside was bright red silk lining the edges. There was a round hole in the far end, and something laying in the box.
Carefully, Sango picked up the object, looking at it.
There were two wooden carved Japanese red-crowned cranes facing each other on a round post. They were facing each other. As she turned it, the wings swung back and forth, and she realized they were hinged as well. The post they were attached to had little tiny wooden dowels sticking out of the bottom.
Going on a hunch, Sango slipped the wooden plug into the little hole, and heard something click. It fit in perfectly.
A little golden fin on the side turned, and Sango wound it up.
As the key turned, unwound, the two cranes started to rise up and down, opening their wings. One opened it's long bill, and a rusty crooonk came out.
Sango smiled. They were doing the courtship dance. Or trying to. The insides were probably rusty.
"Isn't it lovely?"
Sango gasped, and almost dropped it in her shock. She juggled it, finally getting a tight grip on it, and turned to see the old man watching her.
He smiled, his face a network of wrinkles.
"Yes, it's beautiful."
In her hands, came another sad croooonk.
"Except for the sound," Sango laughed.
The old man laughed as well, "Yes, it's rather old. There's a tinker a few stalls over, if you're interested. He's very good, I'm sure he could fix or replace the broken parts."
"Oh, no, I don't know...it's lovely, but..."
"It's a box for a lady's jewlery," the old man beamed at it, "When it was new, it was so beautiful. There's a small scuff on the bottom corner, there, as you can see. I guess someone dropped it at one time. If it's all polished up, it would be lovely on your dresser!"
Sango smiled, "I'm sort of...on the move right now. I wouldn't have any place to put it. May I ask where you got it?"
"Well, that's a strange story all on it's own. It belonged to the woman of a monk who lived in a temple a ways from here. She died, and it was very important to the monk, of course. All he had of his beloved woman."
Sango smiled at the old man, looking at the box.
"Then, the temple was broken into, and many things were stolen. The thieves were never caught. This jewlery box made it's way here over the years. It's been sitting up there for a long time now."
"Why didn't you return it to the monk?" Sango asked, looking out the doorway, where Kagome was holding two necklaces in her hands, apparently unable to decide which one.
"I would have, but the monk died since it went missing. I asked another monk that lived there at the temple, when he came here, but he said no, it was best to leave it here. Maybe it would bring someone else better luck that it had the original owner."
Sango pulled the little plug with the cranes on it out, and gently laid it back in the box, "I don't know what he meant about better luck. How did the woman die?"
"She died in childbirth, bringing the monk's child into the world."
"Oh," Sango said gently, "Still...it happens often, sadly."
"Yes, but the monk who loved the woman was cursed anyway, long before he lost his beloved woman."
"Oh?" Sango looked up at the old man.
"Oh yes. It may be hard to believe, but the monk who loved the woman, had a hole in his hand, he called it a Wind Tunnel."
Sango blinked, looking back at the man.
"Rumor has it, his son inherited the same thing."