Chapter 3
Weeks passed since the fateful day that Sesshomaru broke the jewel. Sota was not happy with the news. Sesshomaru was an honorable man though and vowed to help Kikyo gather the shards and make the jewel whole again. Sota was skeptical of Sesshomaru's intentions but he had no choice in the matter. It was safer for Kikyo to have him around then for her to go alone.
A lot happened since then. Within the first few days of their journey Kikyo learned that she could travel to and fro from her world to this one when a demon named Yura pushed her down the well. She was able to reassure her sister of her safety and leave her in the capable hands of her grandfather while she was away.
During their journey, they even ran into a young wolf cub named Kouga who was being attacked by bird demons called the birds of paradise. Kikyo soon learned that the birds had left Kouga an orphan. So, with the kindness in her heart, Kikyo gladly adopted the young yokai.
Now they were here, in the middle of nowhere with no clues to follow. They seemed to be wondering around more often than Sesshomaru liked. Perhaps with more time, the demons with shards will grow restless and show themselves. Until then all he could really do now was gather as much information as he could.
The smell of blood pulled Sesshomaru from his thoughts. Looking up, Sesshomaru saw an old woman carrying a heavy looking box on her back with a large scythe in her hand, flying across the sky. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. That was Sota's blood that he smelled. Was the lad hurt? He'll have to check on his condition in the morning when Kikyo woke up. Sota was a strong man. A lowly demon like that could not kill him.
Once first light hit the ground, Sesshomaru woke the sleepy Kikyo and rushed her to get ready for travel. Even though he knew Sota could not be dead, he still worried over his health. They were on the road in record time.
"What's wrong, dog?" Kouga asked rudely as he rubbed his eye with his left hand. "I don't get why we're suddenly going back to the village."
Sesshomaru ignored the pup like he always did. He wasn't an easy person to converse with. Kikyo tried but she soon figured out that he was the silent type.
It didn't take them long to reach the village and once they did Kikyo understood what the rush was all about.
"What happened, Sota?" she asked. She was full of concern for the kind priest.
Sota was badly hurt. His left arm was held up in a brace and there were bloody bandages on his head. From the way he held onto his staff with a tight grip, Kikyo was able to easily guess that one of his legs was injured as well.
"Sota, what happened?" Sesshomaru asked with a bored tone of voice but after spending so much time with the man, Kikyo could hear the small hint of concern.
With a long sigh, Sota nodded for them to follow his lead before he slowly made his way to the village shrine. "I was unable to protect it." He mumbled as if he was ashamed of himself.
"Protect what?" Kikyo wondered. They all soon came to a stop in front of a huge crater. Next to it was a smaller shrine that sat in shambles.
"My sister's grave." Sota answered. Kikyo looked at him sharply in surprise. It's been weeks since she heard Kagome mentioned. "A yokai came late last night and stole her urn. I tried to fight her off but in the end, my power was not enough. Kagome was a miko with extra-ordinary spiritual power. If her bones fell into the hands of a yokai… I don't know what misuse they'll be used to do." Sota paused for a moment as if he really didn't want to do what he was about to do. "Sesshomaru" he said simply.
"Hn" Sesshomaru nodded before turning around to head out.
Deep into the mountains, the witch Urasue had just finished with her latest creation and it was by far, the best one that she had ever created.
"The baking has finished rather nicely." She mumbled to herself gleefully. She then raised her scythe and swung it down to pierce the head of the clay shell body. It slowly cracked before bursting open to reveal a beautiful raven haired maiden.
Slowly, she rose from her clay cocoon. Pieces of clay tumbled from her creamy smooth skin to the floor.
"So you're awake, Kagome." Urasue greeted. "Kagome, it is said that when you lived in this world you killed hundreds of yokai to protect the Shikon no Tama. From now on, as servant to I, Urasue the witch, you shall collect the shards of the jewel and bring them to me. Now rise, Kagome! Rise and fight!"
Slowly Kagome rose to her feet only to fall to the floor with a blank expression.
"Hnn?" Urasue walked over to Kagome in confusion. Reaching out, she grabbed a lock of Kagome's hair and pulled Kagome roughly to her face. Kagome showed no signs of pain or discomfort. "The soul has not returned so this is just an empty shell."
There was no reason for the soul to not return. She was a powerful sorceress and has been resurrecting the dead for many years. There could only be one reason for a soul not to return. The soul has already been reincarnated into another body. Which made this one useless.
Filled with anger, Urasue thrashed Kagome to the side. Kagome hit the wall and slid to the floor.
"What am I to do now!? There is no telling where the reincarnation is!"
"Kyaaaa! They're coming this way!" a female voice rang out.
From the corner of her eye, Urasue saw Kagome move towards the cave entrance.
A sly grin grew on her face. Just her luck. She didn't even have to go looking for her. The reincarnation came straight to her!
Not wanting to waste any more time, Urasue rushed out of the cave to the bridge just outside of her home. It wasn't hard for her to find the girl in the group on the bridge. So, while the hanyo was distracted with her clay soldiers, Urasue used her scythe to cut down the bridge. Before Kikyo could fall with her companions, Urasue grabbed her and took off to her home. She had a spiritual binding ritual to do and judging by the look of that hanyo, she didn't have much time to prepare.
Sesshomaru was quick to grab Sota and Kouga before the fall could injure either of them. He landed on the floor with grace and sat the two of them down before looking up at the cliff that the witch had just disappeared on with Kikyo in her arms. "Why would she take Kikyo?" he wondered.
"Don't you remember, Sesshomaru?" Sota grunted as he tried to reposition himself so that he wouldn't be sitting on his injured foot. "When we first met Kikyo, I had said that she was the reincarnation of Kagome." Sota was no fool. He knew that Sesshomaru was listening into that conversation.
"What of it?' Sesshomaru asked casually. He was unsure of why that was important.
"Tell me what really happened twenty years ago between you and my sister." Sota suddenly demanded. Sesshomaru's shoulders stiffened slightly. "I'm no fool. I can see that you still care for my sister. So why did you do it? Why did you betray us?"
Sesshomaru looked at Sota. Everyone saw him as a wise priest but to Sesshomaru, he was still that kid that followed his older sister where ever she went. "Why are you asking this of me now?"
"I need to know in advance. If my assumptions are correct then I think we will be seeing Kagome again soon."
Sesshomaru's eyes widened. He will see Kagome? He thought that was impossible. You can't commutate with the dead. He expected that his questions would go unanswered. Now he will able to see her? To not only talk to her again but to feel her in his arms once more.
"Get on my back. I'll explain on the way."
Before too long, Sesshomaru had Sota on his back while Kouga sat on his shoulder as he hiked them up the mountain. Sesshomaru started from the beginning for the pup's sake of understanding.
"I first met Kagome the morning of her trial. She was tested for the position of the protector of the jewel. I was unaware of this when we met. I was resting in a tree when she had stumbled upon me. Over the years I had developed a name for myself so she was frightened of me but she still stood her ground. She did not run away like I had expected of her. I was…amused. She was entertaining to watch. So I stuck around and observed her. I had no desire for the jewel."
"But you're a hanyo. Didn't you want it to be a full demon?" Kouga asked curiously. Hanyo was treated terribly for what they were. They were not accepted to either side of their race.
Sesshomaru gently shook his head. "What would that change? People would still know that I was born hanyo and treat me the same. I was already powerful enough to take care of myself. There was nothing the jewel offered that I had wanted."
Sesshomaru took a moment to calm himself. It was always hard for him to talk about Kagome. "She knew that I was there. So after some time, she grew relaxed of my presence and asked me to come down for a chat. That was how it started. She would come out to the field and we would just sit there and talk. Eventually the village accepted me so I helped Kagome protect the jewel."
"Then you two fell in love." Sota whispered remembering the days of his youth.
"Woah! Dog breath was in love once?" Kouga asked shocked with the news. He always assumed that Sesshomaru was an inexperienced virgin.
Sesshomaru ignored the brat. "Yes. I couldn't help but love her. She was the light in my darkness but we couldn't be together. As the protector of the jewel, she had responsibilities that she couldn't be distracted from. So it took a few years before we admitted to our feelings."
"Did you two do it?" Kouga asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a huge grin on his face. He loved trying to tease the stone face hanyo.
Sota gasped at Kouga's question. He was just a child. How could he think like that? Where did he even learn those words from? "Kouga! I don't want to hear about that. That's my sister that you are talking about!"
Sesshomaru ignored the two. "Kagome came up with a plan. If there was no jewel to protect then we can be together. So she was going to wish for the jewel to disappear."
It was Kouga's turn to gasp. "What!? Is that even possible!? Can she do that?" he then looked to Sota, seeking answers.
Sota looked down with sadness in his eyes. "She didn't have the chance to try."
Kouga scrunched up his face in confusion. "Why not? What happened?"
Before Sota could answer, Sesshomaru did so for him. "She died."
Kouga looked in regret for asking. Of course, she died. He knew that much. He should have been able to guess what had happened. The jewel was still here after all.
"We planned to wish on the jewel the following afternoon. When the sun was at its highest so that it was at its most pure. But the next morning a figure came to me wearing a bamboo pelt. His face was covered so I cannot relay his features but he threatened to steal the jewel and kill Kagome. Naturally I pursued him. That was when Kagome sealed me to the tree."
Sota was confused. That was not the story that he was told. "Kagome told me that you saw her that night. You told her to meet you in the field at daybreak because there was something that you wished to speak to her about. When she showed up, you attacked her. It was this wound that ultimately killed her."
"You attacked her!? Why!? I thought that you loved her!" Kouga yelled in outrage. He wasted no time for an explanation. He jumped up on the man's head and bit down on his ear.
Sesshomaru snarled in pain. The young cub knew his weak spot and took pleasure in abusing it. Quickly Sesshomaru reached up and pulled Kouga off before throwing him down harshly on the floor. "I didn't do it, you little shit! I have never and would never hurt Kagome!"
Kouga rubbed his swore butt as he glared at the hanyo. "If you didn't do it then who did!?"
Sesshomaru looked off in the distance. "I don't know."
Up on the cliff, Urasue looked on in shock at the girl that she had just kidnapped. She had started the ritual right away and placed Kikyo in the tub filled with herbs. She knew that there would be some kind of resistance from the soul but she had no idea just how much of a fight it would put up. Before her laid Kikyo, squirming in discomfort, with a barrier that was slowly pushing Urasue back against the wall with it sheer size. Around its outer layer, electricity was crackling madly. The soul was angry.
"Ughhhh, this feels awful. I'm gonna be sick." Kikyo groaned.
"For it to refuse the separation this much, there must have been some abominable incident." Urasue mumbled to herself. She glanced next to her where Kagome sat. She now wore her Miko garments and was staring at Kikyo with disinterest.
"Kikyo!" Kouga screamed out once they landed in the area. He stared on in horror as he watched the woman he loved be used in some kind of science experiment. "You monster!" he screamed at the witch. "What are you doing to Kikyo!?"
"Your finally here." Urasue commented without a care. They may be here now but it was too late for them to stop her. The ritual was nearly complete now.
Sesshomaru bent down to let Sota off his back. The lad held onto his staff as he limped a few steps forwards. His eyes glued to his sister.
Sesshomaru followed his gaze and froze in place. Sota may have warned him of Kagome's return but it was another thing entirely to come face to face with it.
Kagome slowly turned her head so that their gazes met. Within mere seconds, tears fell down her eyes.
Sesshomaru took a step forward. "Kagome." He whispered.
