Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi-san
The Journey Home – Chapter Thirty Seven
A whole week!
Kagome was getting worried. The young woman knew that he would be alright, he was a hanyou after all, but that didn't stop the fact that there were enemies hunting for him, and not just the usual youkai, but houshi and miko as well, who thought that Inuyasha was unworthy to carry the Shikon no Tama. Kagome bit her lip, that thought alone made her worry more.
"You're worried about him Kagome-sama?" Kohaku asked. His usual youthful face was set in a frown. "He should have sent a message by now."
"I'm going to look for him," the miko said and was about to leave when she was stopped by the boy exterminator.
"No, you can't, they will become suspicious if you suddenly leave."
Kagome frowned and bit her lip again in irritation, "I can say that I'm going to look for Inuyasha."
"No!" Kohaku said rather forcibly which surprised her. "Please, Kagome-sama," he pleaded, "don't say anything to them."
The miko opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again, not knowing the reason behind his sudden outburst. It sounded as if he was frightened. And after some thought, perhaps she would have been frightened about that too.
Who knew what Sango, Miroku or even Shippou would do if they would ever meet with Inuyasha again.
It was best if she did not think about that at the moment.
"It would be lucky if they ask to go shard hunting again." Kagome sighed with a shrug of her shoulders as they walked towards Kaede's hut.
Inside Kaede's hut, they found that the old miko was addressing a much younger miko who sat in front of her, while sitting to one side of the hut was Sango and Miroku, and the other side sat Shippou and Rin. Kagome also noticed that Shippou was trying to impress Rin with one of his kitsune magic tricks.
Kohaku sat down next to Rin and gave a strange look towards the other boy.
"Try not to cause trouble with your magic tricks, Shippou."
The kitsune narrowed his eyes at the boy exterminator, but one look from Rin's sugary smile stopped his retort and he was forced to remain silent for a while. That guy is getting on my nerves.
"Now that Kagome and Kohaku are here," the old miko interrupted before any argument erupted between the two adolescent boys. "Everyone, this miko comes from the nearby village to the north," Kaede introduced the unfamiliar miko as she inclined her head towards the woman. "This is Naoko-dono. She has rather interesting news that I think you should all hear."
Kaede glanced worriedly towards Kagome, which the others did not seem to pick up. "It concerns the houshi."
And for some unknown reason, Kagome's heart began to pick up speed.
"It concerns the Shikon no Tama." Naoko began, speaking with a clear and serious voice, "Over the years, its location has become unknown and the one who possessed it was also a mystery. I only know that he was a houshi who had unusual, and yet wicked powers and it was likely he was corrupting the jewel for his own purposes."
Kagome remained silent but was disturbed by Naoko's use of the term 'was'. Did something happen to the hanyou?
The miko could feel the thundering pounding of her heart as she waited in looming anticipation.
"I will show you something. It belongs to him."
Naoko unfolded a cloth sack and presented an item that Kagome did not want to see.
For a few seconds, she swore her heart had stopped beating.
That's Inuyasha's blue haori! Why does she have it?
"Where did you get this?" Kagome asked Naoko, while grabbing the haori and clutching it in her small hands.
The miko looked rather surprised at the girl's statement but replied calmly, "Near his body…" However she did not get to finish her sentence, when Kagome unexpectedly stood up and ran out of the hut, with Rin following close behind.
"What's wrong with her?" Naoko asked with interest.
That's what I like to know, thought Sango, as she saw Kagome dash out with a horrified expression on her face.
"She was just upset about how much blood there was on this haori." Kaede answered with expert swiftness. "Do forgive her, she lives a very sheltered life."
"I…see," the miko replied, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
"Near a body you say, Naoko-dono?" Miroku enquired, also wondering why Kagome had abruptly run out. Never in his life, had he seen her so distressed. And then he began to worry, No, it could not be him could it? Miroku shook his head to clear his mind. No, this is someone else…
"So you found this haori near a body. So that means…," the houshi began.
"Yes. More like what was left of his body." Naoko replied.
"But how did you know it was the houshi?" Sango asked this time.
"Because I could sense that he had the Shikon no Tama."
The occupants inside the hut fell silent at the news. Kaede had to calm herself down from her building emotions and urged the young woman to retell the story. It could not be true, could it?
"I did not see exactly how the houshi was killed. All I saw was a strange being dressed in purely white and it was surrounded by a strange light. I could not see the face, but it looked like a youkai, but more like a spirit or ghost. I saw it raise a hand, and then, there was this flash of light… and then I saw the houshi collapse. And that horrible laugh, it sounded like a woman. What made it worse however was the fact that she took the Shikon no Tama from his bloody hand."
"What?!?" everyone exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Sango asked.
"I am sure it was the jewel, it was the same power I felt when the houshi had it. I can also sense that you," she smiled rather coldly at Miroku, "houshi-dono have some fragments, am I correct?"
When Miroku nodded his head in affirmation she continued.
"I tried to exterminate the youkai. But it was already using the power of the jewel and it was too powerful for me. And since it killed this houshi that I have been trying to track down myself, I knew I needed more assistance. I thought that you could help me since you must be searching for the jewel as well."
Naoko bowed down low and her hands began to tremble in anxiety. "Please help me. Please exterminate this youkai, I can't have it possessing the Shikon no Tama."
"Please Kagome-sama, don't cry. It'll be alright." However Rin felt a tear fall down her cheek from hearing the news. "Rin's sure…that…that…"
Rin slapped Kagome across the face. The miko's eyes grew wide as she slowly held a hand to her face and looked accusingly at the teenager.
"I'm sorry Kagome-sama," Rin said quite sheepishly. "But there was a flea on your face." And she showed a very recognisable, squashed flea.
The miko's first distraught face turned to anger as she swiftly snatched the flea from Rin's hand.
"You," Kagome seethed, as the atmosphere seemed to darken around the miko all of a sudden, which caused Rin to step back in fear.
"Ah…ha-ha-ha…Kagome-sama, aren't you glad to see me?" Myoga asked not liking the sudden surge of dark energy, Scarier than Sesshoumaru…
"Why should I be happy to see you Myoga jii-chan?" The miko continued, "From past experiences, the fact that you're here means something bad has happened to Inuyasha. Am I correct?"
Myoga bowed down his head in shame. "I am sorry Kagome-sama. I could not do anything…" and off he went in tears while calling out, "You never appreciate me Kagome-sama!"
"I don't need to appreciate you, you blood-sucking leech." Kagome shouted. "If you weren't so small, I would have wringed your shrivelled neck!"
"Kagome-chan," Sango exclaimed which caused Kagome to jump and quickly turned to see a very surprised audience.
"Y-you guys scared me." Kagome said laughing nervously.
"Are you alright Kagome?" Shippou asked worriedly. "Why were you so upset? Stuff like that happens all the time. You've seen much worse before and it doesn't usually bother you. Was it someone you knew?"
"Stop bothering Kagome-sama with your stupid questions Shippou." Kohaku cautioned with a glare.
"At least I'm worried about her, unlike you." The kitsune answered, also with a glare.
T-that's true, Kagome thought slowly, Kohaku doesn't seem to be worried at all…
But before she could say anything, it was Sango who said it first.
"Would you two stop it already," Sango chided, backhanding them lightly on their heads. "Shippou behave, please," and she then looked at her younger brother with astonishment. "I'm surprised at you Kohaku. You never were like this before."
Kohaku looked away from her, "I'm sorry ane-ue."
Sango sighed feeling a little guilty. "Never mind, both of you just apologise to Kagome-chan, right now."
And they did, both bowing their heads solemnly.
Yet as they did, Kohaku secretively winked at the miko, to which Kagome was silently bewildered by the boy's actions.
"Kagome-sama," Miroku said, deciding to change the subject completely before the two boys started another fight. "We were wondering if you would like to join us to search for this youkai who has the Shikon no Tama."
"Youkai?" the miko asked confusingly. "What about the houshi? I never got the full story."
"Even Naoko-sama is not sure; she thinks it might be some kind of ghost because of its strange aura. But whatever it is, it has the Shikon no Tama and she asked us to exterminate it. This youkai can cause a lot of trouble if it has already killed the houshi." Sango sighed, "I wish I could have met him, just to see what he was like."
However Kagome had her back turned to hide her tears that threatened to fall from hearing the words: "…already killed the houshi."
"Did you get the chance to tell her, Myoga?" Sesshoumaru asked the flea.
Myoga shook his head miserably. "No. She didn't want to listen to me."
"…already killed the houshi."
Night had fallen, and Kagome was in no mood to sleep as she sat on the grassy fields, the same fields that Inuyasha and she sat together a long time ago. She sighed miserably as she fell back onto the slightly damp grass, not knowing what to make of the current situation.
Those terrible words ran repeatedly through her mind: '…already killed the houshi,' to the point where she had to shut her eyes and silently scream for them to stop. The whole thing did not make any sense to her, too many things were out of place, and the more she thought about it, the more worried she became. Surely Inuyasha wouldn't be killed by some youkai?
Unless, it was more powerful, Kagome thought, but then shook her head in disagreement. She was sure that that was impossible.
And there was another thing that Kagome found strange. Sango's younger brother Kohaku, had not seemed the slightest bit worried at all about the hanyou and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Or perhaps she was just not looking at it the right way. After all, Kohaku had known Inuyasha during the time when she was not with him, so it was a possibility…
"…already killed the houshi."
Kagome sighed again as she closed her eyes. "Inuyasha," she whispered. "Where are you?" I miss you, you baka…
Kagome felt tired as she walked up the long flight of stairs up to the shrine that was her home—
She stopped.
"Wait a minute…" She said as she turned around confusingly. "I thought I was in Sengoku jidai," then she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, I can always go tomorrow."
However, as she reached to the top of the stairs, she almost gawked at the person in front of her.
"Sess-Sesshou-…," the rest of his name failed her as his cold, unemotional face glared down at her.
Oh Kami-sama, why is he here? The miko stood back shakily as the tai-youkai stepped towards her. She reached behind her for her trustworthy bow and arrows, and found nothing. Damn it! My bow and arrows betrayed me!
A faint sound was heard coming from the house, and as it came closer, she almost wanted to die from mortification.
"Sesshou-nii chan, Sesshou-nii chan, who are you talking to?" Inuyasha asked looking straight at Kagome with an inquisitive if somewhat puppy-like face. She swore that she could see the luminous stars in his eyes.
Sesshoumaru smiled a brilliant, beautiful and genuine smile.
It made Kagome ill all of a sudden.
"Oh, you remember Kago-chan, Inu-chan?" Sesshoumaru laughed cheerfully.
Kagome knew that whatever was going on, this was a fate worse than dying.
Inuyasha clapped his hands with child-like delight. "Oh, yes, yes, yes, Kago-nee chan!"
That was the final straw, and as painfully as she could, she slapped the hyperactive hanyou across the face. "Stop that right now, Inuyasha! Don't you realise you're talking like a moron?!"
Grabbing the hanyou by the collar of his kimono, she noticed that Inuyasha had started to whimper a little as his eyes began to fill up with tears.
"But-but, you don't understand, Kago-nee chan…," he started more quietly.
Kagome paused at the hanyou's confusing words. "What do you mean?"
"She does not know?" The tai-youkai questioned.
"No, because I was already killed," Inuyasha replied softly.
"…already killed the houshi."
"But that's impossible, you're here right now."
"But you do not understand, Kagome," Inuyasha said again, as his eyes gradually turned black. "I was killed by a youkai."
"But I don't understand you Inuyasha." Kagome replied feeling frustrated from the hanyou's cryptic words.
"Of course you do not understand," a new, feminine voice calmly stated.
Everyone turned, and Kagome was now looking at a figure, clothed in pure white, and her face was covered with an outer kimono, like a veil.
"Of course you do not understand," the voice repeated. The voice was strange and it seemed to echo in the background.
Then the youkai smirked cruelly.
"What do they say? Rumours keep people hidden." The woman cackled, drawing out a katana, raised it above her head and slashed down causing everything to turn blindingly white.
"Kagome-sama, Kagome-sama," Rin called out frantically trying to shake the miko from her fitful sleep.
The miko abruptly awakened from her horrible slumber and she struggled to breathe from the horrible nightmare she had just experienced.
But what was that dream about?
"Are you alright, Kagome-sama? You didn't want to sleep inside?" Rin questioned the miko.
"No Rin-chan," she replied tiredly. "I just didn't like being in there with that other miko and I didn't like hearing the news that he was dead."
Rin held Kagome's hand and replied with timid confidence. "If Kohaku is not worried, Rin is sure that inu-no oji-chan will be alright."
Kagome hoped so too.
"Are you ready leave, Kagome?" Shippou asked the miko as she raised the enormous and heavy yellow backpack onto her shoulders.
The kitsune looked at her worriedly as the miko had to take forceful steps forward. "You want me to help you?"
"No…I'll be fine once we get moving." Kagome replied as she began to walk down the path that would lead them north towards the village that the miko Naoko described. "Where is Naoko-sama anyway?" She asked as she looked around.
"Oh, she said that she wanted to stay for a while, as she wants to wait for one of her comrades." Sango replied and then looked sharply at Miroku, "Well that's what she said, after she spoke with houshi-sama."
"You misunderstand me Sango my dear," Miroku tried to reason while rubbing his cheek that had a suspicious hand print on it. "I was merely trying to cheer her up. Naoko-dono looked so gloomy."
"Hurry up everyone!" Kohaku called out as he stood in the far front of the travelling group. "We want to be there as quickly as possible."
"Shut up Kohaku!" Shippou shouted back feeling more irritated than usual. Who does he think he is?
"Sango," Miroku whispered into her ear as they walked behind Kagome. "I've never seen Kohaku like this before."
"I know," Sango whispered in reply. "It really is incredible. I wonder what made him change like that."
"I don't care," Shippou grumbled as his sharp sense of hearing had already heard the conversation. "But I don't like him."
Kagome could only smile secretively from the kitsune's complaints. But then her eyes became glazed over with sadness at the thought that something terrible had happened to her hanyou, or worse…
It seemed to her that only Kohaku knew the answer.
She hoped he did.
(evil laughter) Until next time...