"So where do you need to go?" Shippo asked, climbing nimbly up my stick to dangle down my arm.
"We need to go there." I said, raising the arm he held onto to point towards a row of huts.
He let out gleeful shriek, gripping tighter onto my arm.
A smothered giggle broke out behind us and I cast a sightless glance over my shoulder. "You're welcome to join us, if you like. There's not much reason to sneak around anymore."
"I was kinda hoping you wouldn't notice me." Kagome admitted, jogging quickly to walk next to me.
"It's not that hard to notice you. You have this, air about you that I am sensitive to." I assure her. "It's not of choice, of course. It's just the way you are."
"I understand. But I'm curious."
"About what?" I asked, casually swinging my arm back and forth to Shippo's delight.
"Everything I guess, like, first off how can you see where we're going even though I can barely see?"
"Easy, I've been walking this path for years now. I know the way to my own home very well."
Kagome didn't say anything for a few moments, but when she was ready, she asked, "What's it like?"
I didn't have to ask was 'it' was. "I used to be able to see, so it isn't that hard to describe. At first it was very disorienting. It's really hard to walk around without being able to see, if you ever try, but once I got the hang of it I was able to walk without anyone having to hold me up or make sure I didn't fall. After that I just had to adjust to being helped all of the time. To eat, find clean and matching clothes to wear, even when to wake up. I didn't have a very good internal clock at first, but I know how to tell what time it is just by the direction that the heat from the sun is on my face."
"But what about your other senses?" She asked, stepping around something unseen on the ground. "I've heard that when once sense doesn't work, the others make up for it."
I thought for a moment. "I suppose you could say that, or you just become more aware of you other senses. When you lose one, like my sight, I had to depend mostly on hearing. So it could have become better, or maybe I was just dependent on it so much that I was able to use it better.
"Here's the hut." I told her, pulling aside the thatch screen that served as a door.
'It's...cozy." Kagome said, stepping around the random clutter dispersed throughout the hallway. I was able to weave easily through the hall, stepping over or to the side of baskets as I normally did.
"It's small, but its home." I said to her. "And this is my room." I turned into the room and went straight for the bag that I kept my clothes in. I emptied it on the floor, clean of the outer filth, and started to sort it into two piles.
"How can you tell what's what?" Kagome asked, sitting down on the floor across from my sorting pile.
"Well, I've added strings like this," I held up one for example. The one I was holding had five beads of different size and texture. "I can tell what it is and what it looks like from what kind of beads and how many there are. Normally, I use five beads for shirts, and this is my summer night shift." I held up the light cotton shirt for her to see.
"I can't actually see it. There's no light in here."
I blinked and smiles. "There's a light near my bed. On the floor." I pointed to the thin mattress I slept on and a moment later the wick was struck and a warm glow spread toward me.
"Oh, now I see. And you have a different bead string for each type of clothes."
"Most. I us similar beading for similar shirts, with maybe a small difference if there's one." I quickly restuffed my clothes bag and moved onto the dirty clothes bag, sorting the clothes the same way. I thrust a few extra items that were lined up next to my bed and a blanket before closing up the bag. It was reasonably light, which surprised me happily.
"I'll have to wash some of this later." I told Kagome, slinging it up on my shoulder.
"Is there a river nearby?" She asked, picking up the lamp and following me out of my room to another.
"Yes, and a hot spring for washing ourselves. The river water is dreadfully cold to bath in, but supplies an abundance of fish." I stepped into another room and ran my hand around, until I touched the familiar silk purse under the mattress. I pocketed it and continued rummaging under the bed until I found another, bigger bag. "Money and heirlooms." I explained. "Don't know what'll happen to this place and the last thing I want is for someone to pay off on our misery."
"Good idea. Anything you need me to do?"
I thought for a moment, sightlessly looking around as I reviewed everything that I knew of that was in the house. "No, but I do need my supplies out of my tent." I lead the way back out of the house, quickly telling Kagome of the torch resting against the hut next to ours. She lit it using the flame from the lamp and we made our way back to the tent, happily chatting about everything around my village.
"And the deer are fond of the grass around here, so hunting isn't a problem if your friend decides to hunt."
"There's no need." Kagome said, walking steadily next to me.
"Kagome has this amazing food from her home that she easily carries around with her." Shippo said from his perch on my arm.
"Really? Sounds good from your description." I said, rolling my neck around and stretching out. "I'll just be a moment if you want to follow me. But please leave the torch out here, we've had a tent set on fire because a man brought a torch into someone else's tent."
She set it aside while I pulled back the tent flap and stepped in.
Shippo's grip tightened on my arm in surprise. "Akime!" Kagome yelled behind me. "Look out!"
I turned toward her and Shippo pulled away fast, as if torn away, taking my stick flying with him. I was pulled in the opposite direction, back into the tent. The tent flaps closed shut and I heard Kagome's muffled shouts from the other side. I scrambled toward the closed flaps but a hand gripped the back of my shirt and lifted me up in the air. I struggled against the grip twisting back and forth, trying to touch back down to the ground.
"Where is it?!" A male voice growled in my face.
I gasped for air, opening my inner eye to see my attacker. "You!" I growl, pulling my arms up to grip his raised arm.
The Naraku puppet stared me down, handsome face contorted into a mask of anger. "Where is it?!" He demanded again.
"What?!" I growled back, trying to dig my nails into his arm.
"The Shikon Shard." He spat. "I know it's here. I felt it. And if you want to live, I suggest you tell me where it is."
Shikon Shard. Shikon Jewel. I thought hard, the name familiar. Inuyasha! That's was it. He was looking for them with Kagome! Is he after them as well? And why would we have it?
"Is that what you wanted? A little shard? You killed my whole village for a shard?!" I started twisting again, furious and wanting to get the advantage.
"Yes." He said coldly. "I had my demons search your village for the shard, and when it didn't show up, I just had them killed. One by one." He laughed, tilting his head back and taking his eyes off me.
I summoned up as much strength as I could and drilled my fingers into the large vein on his neck.
I hit it just right because I pierced the skin. But blood didn't come out of the wound. Dirt did, falling slightly before it closed up on itself.
"Wrong move." He growled and slammed my head down on the ground. I remember screaming out, pain rushing through my head and shoulders and the tent door opening, with Inuyasha standing before the rip. Then it was very dark.