Kage Houseki no Himitsu
Chapter 28
A few minutes earlier…
Outside the barrier, Kagome
"Oi, Miroku! There's no change at all! Is that stuff you're doing actually gonna work?"
Miroku, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and his hands folded around a string of sutra beads, twitched.
"Would someone please remind Inuyasha of the fact that I need to concentrate if the sutras are going to work?" He said calmly, one closed eye twitching with agitation. He huffed once and held the beads a little closer to his face; he resumed chanting quietly.
I glanced in the direction Inuyasha's shout had come from, and sighed. "I think he'll get the idea."
Kirara gave a low growl; Sango scratched her behind one ears. "What's the matter girl?"
Kirara's large nostrils flared for a moment, then she seemed to calm somewhat. Sango and I looked at each other with confusion, but shrugged off Kirara's moment of odd behaviour without further thought.
The group was silent for only a few more moments; Miroku sighed and opened his eyes, his brow furrowed with frustration.
"I can't break through it," he said quietly. He rolled the sutra beads into a ball and shoved them back into his pocket. He grabbed his sharp-headed staff as he continued. "Whoever cast this barrier has very strong spiritual powers."
I frowned. "Could this be Kikyo's barrier? She usually has one erected when she's resting, right?"
Miroku glanced at me. "Perhaps; it does seem somewhat familiar."
Sango looked back at the barrier. "If so, I doubt we'd find Aoi-san in there. I don't understand why Kikyo would go out of her way to hurt Aoi-san, then to bring her inside her barrier – it doesn't seem like something she would do."
"Yeah," I agreed hesitantly. I still had no idea if this really was Kikyo's barrier, or if Aoi was somewhere inside it; something in the back of my mind was telling me that we had to get in there, though. I couldn't really explain it.
"If this is Kikyo's barrier," I began, taking a few steps toward it, "Maybe I'd be able to get through, without breaking it."
Miroku cocked his head. "What makes you think that, Kagome-sama?"
"I've been able to get through her barrier before, remember?" I pointed out. I took a few more stpes toward the bluish sheen the barrier produced. "Unless Kikyo's changed it in any way, I might still be able to get through."
"I suppose it's worth a try," Sango said fairly. I smiled at her.
Miroku hesitated, then sighed, defeated. "Alright; I'll resume attempting to break the barrier from this side if you manage to slip through."
"Okay," I agreed quickly. I took the few remaining steps to the very edge of the barrier, then reached out a hand to touch it.
My hand passed through the barrier like it wasn't even there.
I glanced back at the others. "If I don't find Kikyo or Aoi, I'll come straight back."
"Be careful, Kagome-chan," Sango told me; Kirara roared softly.
I nodded, turned, and stepped completely through the barrier.
Though I didn't feel any different on the other side of the barrier, I decided that I should be extra careful. Though I was now sure that the barrier was Kikyo's, that didn't mean that I should let my guard down by any means. I wouldn't soon forget how Kikyo had once tried to kill me, and once when she'd tried to drag Inuyasha into hell with her.
I readjusted my rucksack, bow and arrows on my shoulders, and started a light run toward the center of the barrier.
Aoi
I glanced between Kikyo, Inuyasha and Kagome as the three's awkward silence persisted. I gulped.
"Um… I think I've missed something again."
Kagome blinked, and seemed to snap out of her sudden stupor. She cleared her throat, and turned back to me. "Well, uh – I guess that means that you've met Kikyo, right?"
"Yeah," I agreed, still glancing suspiciously between the trio. "But… who is it exactly that I've just met, cousin?"
Kagome blinked at the way I'd addressed her; I usually wasn't a very sarcastic person. "Oh – this is the woman we've been looking for. My preincarnation."
I frowned. "Eh? But I thought you said she was already dea-"
I broke off abruptly, and glanced at Kikyo. If the woman really was Kagome's preincarnation, telling her that she was going to die probably wasn't a very good idea.
"Dead, yeah," Kagome finished non-chalantly. I stared at her.
"To what," Kikyo said quietly; Kagome and I looked back at her, "do I owe the pleasure of being visited by all of you? I'm sure you didn't search for me just to bid me, 'Good day'."
Kagome turned to face Kikyo fully, looking very serious. "We have a favour to ask."
Kikyo raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Inuyasha for some reason. "And what favour would that be?"
Kagome pushed me forward slightly. "This is my cousin, Aoi. She's someone's reincarnation, too."
"And?"
"Well, she… she has a jewel, something like the Shikon no Tama, only… different."
Kikyo held up Kokuei, which she was still holding lightly in one hand. "You mean this Kokuei no Tama?"
Kagome's eyes widened. "Y-yes – that exactly."
Kagome's eyes narrowed slightly. "Where did you get that? It was pried from the metal bracket I'd made for it."
"I took it," Kikyo said calmly, "Because I thought it was the corrupted Sacred Jewel. The misunderstanding has already been set right."
Kagome paused for a moment, then nodded, still looking suspicious. "Okay. Well, that Kokuei no Tama isn't good for Aoi. It-"
"Um. Kagome?" I interrupted quietly. Kagome turned to look at me with surprise. "I already told her."
"Oh." Kagome turned back to Kikyo. "Well, then I guess I'll move on to the favour. I want you to seal Aoi's – um – preincarnation."
Kikyo frowned. "'Preincarnation?'"
"Um. Kagome?" I interrupted again. Kagome looked at me with a rather synical expression. "I haven't told her about Ryuusai. Not fully."
"Oh."
Kagome looked from me to Kikyo, then sighed. "Okay, Aoi; you explain."
I nodded, and looked at Kikyo. "I told you that Ryuusai is my preincarnation, but I didn't tell you that I can… I can still communicate with her, even though our souls are the same."
Kikyo's frown deepened, but she didn't comment. I decided that it was safe to continue.
"So, um, Kagome wants you to-"
I broke off as I realised what kagome had said. I turned to look at fully, my eyes wide. "Wait, what?"
Kagome glared down at me defiantly. "It isn't right that you can communicate with Ryuusai like you say you can. Besides, she's connected to Kokuei somehow – that jewel drove her insane! She's dangerous!"
"No, not Ryuusai!" I snapped in retaliation. Kagome looked stunned; I'd never once spoken to her like this. "Ryuusai is helping me! It's Kokuei that's bad, Kokuei that ruins everything! You can't seal Ryuusai away, you can't!"
"If I may," Kikyo interrupted softly. I glanced at her. "You speak of the Kokuei no Tama as if it, too, has some kind of consciousness."
"It does," I replied steadily. "It seeks power, and it uses its wielders to get it. If a wielder is powerful enough to use it safely, it'll try to convince them to do stuff for it."
Kikyo looked incredibly troubled.
"But, Aoi," Kagome said reasonably. I looked back at her. "You can't keep Ryuusai, either; she's dead."
"But-" I began to retort.
"There is a charm that can seal resentful spirits," Kikyo interrupted coolly. Kagome and I both looked at her, startled. "With my spiritual power, I may be able to seal away the Kokuei no Tama's influence, leaving it as a simple jewel."
"Will it seal away its powers, too?" I asked immediately. Inuyasha glanced at me, but didn't say anything.
"No," Kikyo explained. "Only the presence that you say resides within it."
Inuyasha and Kagome didn't say anything, apparently allowing me to decide Kokuei's fate. I thought for a moment.
"Alright. Let's try it."
