And we're back with chapt 12...which is actually chap 11 part 2 but shhhh! Do I really need to make another disclaimer for this one?
Shiori looked back into the room, Rin was still unconscious. It might take her a little longer to wake up but they were running out of time. She looked down at the mirror her sister gave her.
"Huh? What's that thing?" asked Inuyasha.
"It's a tennin mirror," Shiori answered. "Tennin use it to communicate with one another. I'm going to contact Emi and tell her we don't need the herbs anymore,"
She warily stared down at the strange mirror, "…..just as soon as I figure out how to use it."
Both Inuyasha and Kagome face faulted to the floor.
"You mean you don't know how to use your own artifact?" shouted Inuyasha.
"Well it's not like I used one before!" she shot back.
"Look, can we just forget the stupid mirror and go find Enma now? Isn't that the whole point of coming here?"
"Unlike some people, Inuyasha, I don't like to blindly rush into battle," Shiori remarked. "Besides, we were waiting for you to wake up and—"
All of the sudden, Shiori's mirror began to glow. All three of them stared at it with wonder.
"Shiori you did it!" exclaimed Kagome.
"I didn't do anything," she shrugged. "It's doing that on its own accord."
They waited for an image to show up, but nothing else happened. It just kept shinning with a brilliant white light. Shiori angrily tapped on the glass.
"It won't do anything else!"
"Maybe it works like a cell phone," said Kagome. "Try holding it up in the air. It might get a better signal that way."
"Okay, I'll try that," said Shiori, standing to her feet as she lifted the mirror above her head. She turned to Inuyasha and carefully lowered her voice. "What's a cell phone?"
"I don't know," he whispered back. "I guess it's another weird device from her old world."
...0.0
Nekuma flew into the air and slammed hard into the ground. She continued to skid back across the grass before stopping just short of a tree. She struggled to regain her footing before being blasted back once again.
"I thought cats always landed on their feet," Sesshomaru jeered as he paced towards her. "Was I mistaken?"
She leered at him, "you princely bastard! How did a brat like you manage to surpass your father's power?"
"It looks like you won't be getting that revenge you spoke of," he responded.
"Darling, don't count me out just yet," she said, rising to her feet. "We're not through here."
"We soon will be," he coldly replied.
"As cute as you are, Sesshomaru, you're not a real man," she teased as she attacked him with an energy blast. "A real man would never hit a lady!"
Sesshomaru swiftly dodged each one of Nekuma's attacks and took to the air. Seeing this as an opportunity to destroy him, Nekuma leapt towards him with her claws extracted. Just as she was about to strike him, Sesshomaru rammed his sword into her abdomen. Nekuma screeched with pain as Sesshomaru forced her to the ground. Her stared down at her motionless body as he withdrew his sword from her chest.
"You are not a lady," he dismissed.
"Excellent work Lord Sesshomaru!" exclaimed Jaken as he came running out of a bush. "You disposed of her quite nicely!"
"Jaken," said Sesshomaru sharply. "She's not dead."
"Eh? But you stabbed her with the Bakusaiga! No one could survive that there's no way she—"
"She's not dead…"
Suddenly, Nekuma's eyes came to life and she started laughing hysterically. Jaken whimpered and ran for cover behind Sesshomaru's leg.
"Ack! It's true! The crazy cat wench is still alive!" he screeched. "Dear God, why?"
"You might be stronger than your daddy, Sesshomaru, but that doesn't mean you can defeat me so easily," she said with a smirk.
"Kill her with fire, Milord!" Jaken barked.
"Such arrogance," said Sesshomaru, ignoring Jaken. "Is that truly what you believe? This place will soon me be your grave, Nekuma."
"Unfortunately for you, I won't be fighting you to the death at this time," she laughed. "We'll have to conclude this in the Sacred Lands. He wants all of you in the same place so we can take you out at once. I was simply here to test out your strength. And now I know your limits."
"How dare you talk about Lord Sesshomaru that way!" shouted Jaken. "He just mopped the floor with you!"
"Hmm, so my hunch was correct," said Sesshomaru. "You were holding back."
She smirked, "oh, aren't you the smart one? You caught on! Well, it doesn't matter now. The next time we meet will be in the Sacred Lands…but I won't be holding back."
"Do you truly believe I'm just going to wait until next time?" he questioned, looking down at her. "Don't be a fool."
He swung at her, but she jumped to her feet and caught his blade with her bare hands.
"I'd be carefully if I were you," she threatened. "You see, I am a very important part of King Enma's plan. Killing me will totally destroy that plan. Shiori has already entered the Sacred Lands. If you kill me now, he just may retaliate by killing her early."
"I doubt your death could cause Enma to go into a spiraling rage," Sesshomaru rebutted. "No matter how much power you think you have, you're still expendable."
"Maybe, but Shiori's not…or is she? Or how about that young priestess? Do you really want to risk their lives by foiling King Enma's plan?"
"You said so yourself that you were simply holding back," he grunted.
"Yes, but killing you here isn't a part of the plan either. And I'd be severely punished," she explained. "Don't you see? This is all a part of the Grandmaster's revenge. Everything must go perfectly…even the tiniest change can cause him to go berserk."
"All the more reason to change it,"
"This brings me back to my earlier question. Do you really want to risk the lives of those you care about?
"Are you telling me to allow him to go through with his scheme?" Sesshomaru questioned. "That's absurd."
"No, of course not. There will be plenty of opportunity to save everyone from Hell. In fact, he welcomes you to try…but, it's hopeless! None of you can win!"
Sesshomaru pulled back his blade and tried to slice Nekuma again, but she jumped to the nearest tree branch.
"Yet, you still attack me. What kind of mate are you? Sesshomaru, you should really be worried about Shiori's well being. Especially with the state she's in," bellowed Nekuma.
He narrowed his eyes, "what are you talking about now?"
"You can't see it yet, but soon you will," said Nekuma with a wicked grin. "As long as the power of the Sacred Lands weakens, she will continue to change…"
Jaken peered out from behind Sesshomaru, "Change? How will she change?"
"She will no longer be the girl you use to know. She will not even have the privilege of dying as her true self," Nekuma taunted. "That girl will be gone forever…"
Nekuma disappeared into the forest. Sesshomaru didn't even make a move to stop her.
"Milord, she's getting away!" Jaken pointed out.
"Let her," he responded.
"What do you think she meant about Shiori changing?" Jaken pondered. "Hmph, if she's going to change, then I hope she becomes a nicer person! Because the other day she called me rotten toad and—"
"Jaken," Sesshomaru snapped.
"Yes Milord?" he gulped.
Sesshomaru looked down at the little imp by his side, "why are you here? Weren't you supposed to go with Shiori and Rin?"
"I was! But Shiori forced me to act as a distraction for those evil cat creatures!" Jaken complained. "I nearly escaped with my life! Ugh, she has no regards for me safety!"
"Lord Sesshomaru!" called a voice from above.
It was Kohaku! He, Sango, and Miroku were flying in on Kirara. They landed down directly in front of him.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"I see, so you also bare the mark of Enma," said Sesshomaru dryly.
"Who's that?" asked Jaken.
"Master Jaken, you don't remember?" Kohaku frowned. "It's me, Kohaku. Remember?"
Jaken's mouth hung open, "K-Kohaku? That's really you? When did you get so…tall?"
"You can get reacquainted with the boy later," said Sesshomaru, headed towards the cave. "Come, Jaken."
Jaken hobbled after him, "wait, Lord Sesshomaru!"
"It looks as if Inuyasha and the others have already travelled to the Sacred Lands," Miroku noted. "We must follow after Sesshomaru."
"Is it me or does he look more annoyed then usual?" asked Sango.
"Ah, you noticed it too? I thought I was the only one," laughed Miroku.
"Kirara, let's catch up to Lord Sesshomaru," said Kohaku, gently patting her head. "We'll need to follow him if we want to enter the Sacred Lands too."
Kirara growled in acknowledgment and flew after the demon lord.
"As long as the power of the Sacred Lands weakens, she will continue to change…"
Nekuma's words echoed through Sesshomaru's mind. He hated the distorted expression she had whenever she talked about Shiori. Nekuma was getting such a cheap thrill out of the whole thing. That treacherous fiend.
'I will not allow that to happen,' he thought to himself. 'I will not allow them to turn her into a shinigami…'
...0^_^
"Try moving it a little more to the left," Kagome instructed. "No wait, that's too far! Move it back a little."
"Kagome, this is ridiculous! " Shiori protested. "We've been at this for about 10 minutes now. I'm telling you, this isn't working."
"Uh….well maybe if we tried on the roof?" she said with a smile.
"Ugh! This is a waste of time! We could've already found Enma by now!" Inuyasha fussed. "Why are we still fooling around with this stupid mirror?"
"Well maybe it won't work because you're corrupting it with your negative energy!" Kagome shot back.
"Well excuse me for wanting to actually do something other than sit around on my ass!"
"You know, I really don't like your tone right now!" Kagome angrily shouted.
"Oh yeah? Well my tone really doesn't like you right now!"
Kagome's left eye twitched as she angrily crossed her arms.
"Inuyasha…" she said with strain.
Inuyasha's expression suddenly changed from fiery to fearful. "Kagome, let's not get crazy now!"
"…SIT!"
Inuyasha's face sunk to the ground, making the whole house shake.
"Ack!" he cried out in pain.
Shiori closed her eyes and placed her hand to her temple.
"Will you two please stop behaving like a stereotypical married couple? You're giving me a headache," she expressed.
"Hey, look!" said Kagome pointing to the mirror. "I can see something!"
Shiori curiously examined the mirror. Kagome was right! There was a slight image appearing in the glass. A figure with long white hair was slowly beginning to appear.
"Emi?" shouted Shiori. "Emi where are you?"
"Hello sister," said a voice projecting from the mirror.
Shiori gasped. That voice—it wasn't her sister's! She watched as the face in the mirror finally became clear to her.
"Hello brother," Shiori dryly responded.
"Tell me, are you enjoying your unauthorized visit home?" Jirou questioned.
