AN: What can I ay to explain my absence? I hate studying geology! And I hate essays, and even if I DO like Latin, the textbooks are incredibly boring!! ….*sigh* Thank God for fan fics… they keep my sanity in place.
Bloody moon devil: Exactly! Inuyasha's there in spirit!
Mybyrdy: I have been watching and taping it off of tv religiously. It's edited, but not that badly. I mean… they actually let him say 'bastard!' I was so shocked…. It was so beautiful…. *sniffle* And you don't need to apologize. I like long reviews. Besides, you're cute. ^_^
Ilvinnaeda: Actually, now that I have seen more of the show, I have a tendency to agree with you. But… he's not that bad as he seems, on the surface. After all, he waited until Sango was healed before he started to grope her, so at least he has some sensibility. Eh, Sango will make reference as to some of that nature later on…. ^_^ But don't forget: AU. He's known Sango since he was 6, and so, they've spent quite a bit of time together. (Compared to the tv show, I mean.) And your comment that Kagome seems "wifely"…. Lol If you ever want to get me going, pick on my female characters. Don't forget, you haven't seen her with Miroku or Inuyasha, just with Sango and Shippo. The feeling I got from the show, is that it's the males who get her riled up: Inuyasha, her grandfather, Miroku's perversion…. So once she stops being in her "girlfriend" mode, she can get that fire back. ^_^
Enjoy!
Chapter Four: The Three Demons Gruff
Stumbling as she fell back on the enchanted path, Sango caught her and looked her friend. She clucked her tongue like a reprimanding mother. "Kagome! You already used your magic to purify Urasue. You didn't have to heal every single twig and blade of grass on the way back to the path! Now you're worn out."
The other girl rubbed her head. "It's no worse than when I helped Inuyasha fight before. And healing is so much easier to do than erecting barriers or purifying because it's so much more natural. I'm just a little light headed, that's all." She tried to steady herself on her own but started falling again. Sango let Kagome lean on her as they started back down the path. "Besides, it had to be done. I didn't want any of the dryads or anything thinking we meant to hurt them when we chased after Shippo."
Looking at Kagome, he jumped off Sango, turning an abashed shade of red. He kicked at the pebbles as she walked, shuffling along without his usual bounce or hyperactive sense. "Gee, I'm sorry, Kagome."
Her smile was tired. "It's all right, Shippo. Everybody messes up sometimes, and no harm came of it. Except for Urasue, but she was threatening to eat us all, and all those eyes…" She shuddered at the thought, suppressing the rise of bile. She leaned a bit heavier on Sango, feeling as ashamed as Shippo. "Let me lean on you for a little while, as we walk. Just for five, maybe ten minutes, then I can walk on my own."
By the time that the temple of the oracle was visible, Kagome was walking under her own power, although she was till looking a little bit pale, underneath the tan she had from working in the garden. The travelers sighed when they saw it, the object of their destination close at hand.
The castle was shiny and black, as if made from some volcanic rock shot straight out hell. Yet it looked inviting to the travelers. A moat surrounded the castling spire, and an open bridge lay at the end of the enchanted path. The companions sighed out of relief, and hurried to the bridge, breaking into a run, seeing their salvation and hope ahead of them.
Sango, as Kagome was still weakened from using up so much of her power, reached the bridge first. The moment her foot touched the bridge, it shook, and an old man leapt out from underneath it. Old and twisted, he was misshapen badly, but he still looked less terrifying that Urasue had.
"Should ye answer me,
These riddles three,
Cross this bridge ye may,
To better company."
They glanced at each other. Sango spoke up. "Why should we answer your questions? We could simply fight our way across. After all, we don't know who you are or anything. You could be trying to trick us."
"I am the guardian of these waters,
My rank given by high'r powers.
Only those who give the answer,
May the enchanted castle enter.
Those who fail to do so,
And barrel on through,
Will meet a sad fate,
At the hands of the water snake."
Kagome sighed from exasperation. This demon's poetry kept getting worse and worse! If it got any worse, she was going to freak out and throw him over the river. She didn't have time for riddles! Inuyasha was out there, possibly in danger, and she was expected to sit around and answer riddles?
"First!" the man said, pointing a finger in the air. "How many letters are there in the alphabet?"
At least he had stopped talking in rhyme!
Shippo laughed. "That's easy! There's twenty…"
Sango swiftly cupped her hand over his mouth. "No. The answer is eleven. There's eleven letters in 'the alphabet'."
The demon nodded. "Correct. You may pass." He saw their distressed looks, and he smiled, revealing sharp, pointed teeth like those of a shark. "There are three questions. There is one question for each of you. The lady who answered it may pass." They were about to tell him that they preferred traveling together, as they were a team, but the man wouldn't have it. "I'm not going to continue until she crosses."
Reluctantly, Sango crossed, Kirara bristling with anger on her shoulder. What? Just because I'm not in a humanoid form like the kitsune I don't get to answer a riddle too? What the hell am I? Chopped liver? The cat thought about this a moment, and then licked her lips. Actually, liver sounds pretty good about now….
Ignoring Kirara, the demon guardian continued. "Secondly, CANDY can be spelled with just two words. What are they?"
Shippo jumped up and down. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! I know this one! 'See' and 'why'! 'See' and 'why'!"
"How the heck can 'see' and 'why' make up 'candy'?" Kagome asked, scratching her head. Then it clicked in. "Oh, I understand. C and Y makes 'candy'. Clever." She hugged Shippo for getting it right, laughing somewhat nervously as she realized she was the only one left. She set Shippo on the ground so he could run across the rock bridge and join Sango on the other side. She was never any good with riddles….
Balling her fist, she told herself to concentrate. She had to do this! It was for Inuyasha! Shippo was cheering for her, and she had to smile, but she ignored him. She had to concentrate! Sango held her breath, anxiously petting Kirara, whose tail was twitching back and forth rhythmically, silently cheering her on.
Even the demon from under the bridge smiled at her, his face patient. "Only one color, but not one size," he started slowly, giving it the chance to sink into her brain. It seemed that he wanted her to pass as much as her friends did. While Kagome shuddered when she thought back to his poetry, he really wasn't all that bad a guy at all. "Stuck at the bottom, but easily flies. Present in the sun, but not the rain, doing nor harm, and feeling no pain. What is it?"
Kagome was shocked. How come Sango had gotten the easy one? Kagome was screwed…. No! She couldn't think that way! Kagome refused to let herself think that way! This was for Inuyasha. 'Come on Kagome,' she encouraged herself. 'Think it through slowly, logically. Okay, only one color, but not one size. Next line. That one's too difficult. Okay, next line's too hard too. What is out when the sun shines, but not when it rains? Well, obviously not clouds. Flower buds close, but they don't fly.'
She stared up at the sky, finding it spotlessly blue, the sun warm on her skin. 'The sun makes things warm, but warm doesn't fly either, and it certainly isn't one color. Heat, but that isn't a color either. Nor is it found on the bottom…' She glanced down, and there Kagome found her answer.
Kagome smiled proudly. "A shadow."
The man nodded. "That is correct. Please, follow me. I will take you to the Oracle." He fell in step beside Kagome, and patted her shoulder. "There was never really any doubt that you wouldn't be able to do it, Priestess. The Oracle has taken a special interest in your case. After all, should something happen to King Sesshomaru, Heaven forbid it, he would be the next in line to the throne. We don't want the next in line for the throne to have disappeared, now do we?"
She had always known that Inuyasha was a prince, but she suddenly hadn't really clued into that until he had said Inuyasha was next in line to the throne. If something did happen to Sesshomaru, then Inuyasha would become a king, and she would become his queen. Oh…. Now that was just too creepy for the peasant Priestess to handle! She didn't want to be the Queen! Kagome nodded, agreeing with him: please, don't let anything bad happen to Seshsomaru!
~*~
Outside the hut the air was white with a blizzard. Inside the cabin the air was warm, filled with the scents of cinnamon and apples from the pie Inuyasha had baked. Kagome was curled up on a chair, a small smile on her lips as she watched him move about the kitchen.
"I can't believe you know how to bake pies, Inuyasha. Even I can't do anything that complicated. All I can manage are cookies and a few simple squares."
"My mother taught me," Inuyasha said, pulling the pie from the oven. He set it to cool and then walked to Kagome. He pulled her out of the chair, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, his fingers toying with her hair. She wrapped her arms around his waist, but his hair was so long, she was able to play with it from there.
"You're full of surprises, Inuyasha," Kagome chuckled, rising up on her tip toes to give him a kiss that would have given a man enough strength to brave the blizzard outside. "That's just the way I like it."
He smiled at her, and his hands moved down her sides. "You haven't seen just how full of surprises I can be, Kagome," he promised her, and she shuddered from the suggestion. And from the hands that now moved back up the sides of her body. Inuyasha's smile was less than princely as he pulled her against his body, dipping his head to kiss her lips. His mouth brushed hers, his breath warm on her skin. "The pie will take an hour to finish baking. Whatever shall we do to pass the time, Kagome?"
She moved her hands up to his head, brushing the tips of his ears and getting nipped at in playful warning. Kagome giggled. "Surprise me."
~*~
The demon guarding the bridge led them through the castle of the Oracle, talking about the various paintings and statues that lined the way, each depicting a scene related to the Oracle herself. Finally, they rounded the corner and a large set of doors loomed at the end. For some reason the grandeur of the doors alone were enough to make Kagome feel as if she stood at the entrance to Hell. She gulped down when she noticed that the demon had stopped. Was he seriously going to leave them? Those doors looked too big and heavy to push! But Sango was strong, after all, and Kagome was no weakling. If they had to go through those doors, then so be it!
"Is the Oracle through there?" she asked, slurring her words a bit.
The demon laughed, and pointed to a door so plain and commonplace that she had not even noticed it. "The Oracle is through here. I have to go back to the bridge now. She will show you out when you are done. Good luck to the best of you!"
Sango glanced at her friends, and then entered first. She found the room to be large, and sunny, the windows as large as the doors Kagome had worried over. A little girl who looked only a few years older than Shippo sat in a chair, looking stoic, reading a book in a plush chair. No fire was lit, but the room seemed warm anyway. It was lined with books in languages even Sango couldn't read.
Looking up from the book, the girl's eyes were hollowed, and sad. Her voice was soft, however, and soothing. "I am Kanna, the Oracle. You may ask me only one question each."
"Why?" Shippo demanded before he thought.
She looked at him with ghostly eyes, and Kagome was certain that if this girl had simply been an ordinary girl, instead of an all-seeing young lady who saw things if she wanted to or not, no matter how horrible they were, she might have been smiling at his question. Of course, the tail that wavered behind him didn't help either. "Because otherwise people would abuse my power. This makes them stop and think, about how to phrase their question, and about what is most important for them. If you need time to think, I will summon one of my caretakers to give you rooms for the night."
Shippo clapped his hands over his mouth, realizing what he had done. He'd wasted his question! He hid behind the two girls, kicking his fox feet childishly. Damn! He had been going to ask her about how to gain candy!
Kagome and Sango glanced at each other, and the knight nodded. She approached Kanna and bowed, and this time the albino girl really did manage to smile. "Ah, Captain Sango. You have been a joy to watch after all these years. Such dedication and perseverance. I know not what you are going to ask, and that is odd for me. I can tell you where Miroku is, I can tell you how to heal his hand, I can tell you many things. What is it you would like to know?"
"I would like to know exactly what happened to Inuyasha and Miroku." Kanna opened her mouth to speak, and Sango bent down in front of Kanna, her brown eyes pensive. Was that a good enough question that all their questions could be answered? But Kanna said nothing, and Sango then realized that she actually needed to put it in the form of a question. "Can you… No. How can Kagome and I save Inuyasha and Miroku?"
The Oracle nodded approvingly. That was exactly the question she had been looking for. 'Can' would have of coursed created a yes or no answer. But how, demanding an explanation, was worthy of a detailed answer. She gently lifted a small mirror, and held it out for Sango to see. Images passed over the glass, lending pictures to her words. "Miroku sought for a way to heal his hand, and encountered a Sorceress. She tricked him into giving him her hand she healed, and now she is her husband, in offer, though not in ceremony or consummation. You will find him in the forest bordering the human and demon worlds, in fact, you will find him in the same woods that Miroku uses for his base of thieving operations. But the tower is only accessible by those who are willing to risk everything, including death, to gain what they want so badly it consumes them, and they all but enter a state of madness. You must find the tower, and you must outwit the Sorceress.
"As for Inuyasha, is situation is more dire. Yura sought revenge, and poisoned him. He sleeps in peaceful dreams as he slips into oblivion. Even my gaze cannot see how close he is to death, or where his body has been hidden, as hard as I tried to look for it. Kagome, your quest is much harder than Sango's. You must find his body, and then you must do everything you can to wake him up. That, you're heart will tell you to do."
Kagome felt cold, from this information, and she slowly approached the Oracle, kneeling down beside Sango. "Kanna…. How can I live out my days with Inuyasha and age as him, or him as me?"
Feeling sorry for Kagome and the task set before her, Kanna was generous, or as generous as she could be, with such a question. "You will find that out for yourself. You are, after all, a Priestess. I can give you no answer, for the solution must come from within yourself." She sighed, and looked at them all, putting the mirror down. "It is getting late. I can show you all to rooms for the night."
"That would be wonderful," Kagome said.
Sango pursed her lips, looking up at the small girl. "Just a moment, Kagome. Oracle, I have one more question. Is there anything that Kagome, or Shippo or I, could do for yourself?"
Kanna was touched. She had always been treated with kindness and respect, but never had somebody asked her if there was something she desperately wanted. She actually managed to smile. "No, thank you, Sango. I have everything I need. Come, I will show you to your rooms for the night."
~*~
Miroku watched in the mirror, and now grew worried as well. He had been worried before because the Priestess had brought him up dinner, and had not reappeared since then. This was the longest he had been without seeing her, and while he didn't particularly enjoy her company, he didn't dislike it either. And some part of him worried what would happen to him if she forgot about him and left him to waste away in his tower.
'Poor Inuyasha…. Poor Kagome!'
Then he thought about something else, and then he looked at the mirror, already wincing. The mirror always went wonky when he asked it to show him something. "Show me where Inuyasha is being held!" he commanded, and the mirror hissed, spat, and glowed. He image slowly melted, and a bird's eyes view of Yura's village showed up, slowly spinning and moving through the streets as if a bird was flying through it, and then, woosh! Through a door went the view, and down and down and down a spiraling staircase until the ground became rock, and formations dripped from the ceiling. Even just through pictures, Miroku could tell it was cold, and stale, filled with death. It was a place of evil sorcery. No wonder Kanna's pure mirror had been unable to see into the rocky hellhole, while the alabaster mirror of the cruel Sorceress could!
He commanded the mirror again, and it crackled, the picture returning to his beloved Sango. He held the mirror close, and raised his voice, as if his voice might somehow carry through the mirror to the heart of his beloved. "Sango! You have to come and get me first! I can tell you where Inuyasha is! Come on Sango, talk to Kagome and come and get me first! You know you can do it! Please!" His grip on the mirror was so hard it was a wonder he didn't accidentally crack it.
The other reason why he wanted the real Sango back was because he didn't know how long he could hold out against the Sorceress.