A/N: Hey there my lovely readers. I'm back with another chapter and must say that I'm quite pleased with this one. Like I've promised, this chapter is more serious than the previous, though there won't be blood spilled. Speaking of last chapter, some of you may have noticed that I've added a small update on the end note. As it states, I've lightly gone through the older chapters for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. There were a few, but otherwise the story hasn't been changed whatsoever. Yet you will notice if you reread them – and here on forwards – that (o)tō-san and (o)kā-san has been corrected to what they were supposed to be spelled like (how I've just written them).

But anyways, I thank you all for the support you've been showing me and my story. To the newcomers of the fave-fam: Alexstarlight18, Azera-v, UsamiHaruka, sillysammijo, and NadiixD, welcome and thank you so much for favoriting my story. Next, a big thanks to Nightbird755, Kagz419, Cat2k10, and sillysammijo for leaving a review.

To Nightbird755: I won't spoil when Sesshōmaru-sama will reappear but know that it will happen soon.

To Kagz419: I hadn't heard about the InuYasha sequel before you mentioned it. I've looked into it, but there isn't much to go on. I'm not sure about what I think about it yet, but I will say that the sequel won't have an impact on my story (not with how little information there is anyways).

And to sillysammijo: I am glad that you think my story is great. And yeah, I've used a lot of time working on Aiko (I made a document for her character like you see the InuYasha-wiki do with the original characters; helping me along with figuring her out and giving me a good viewpoint of what she can and can't do, and so much more. It's still a work in progress). To mention Kirara; she's a smart creature and shouldn't be treated like a common house pet (cause she's not common), so I try my best to do her character right. I really appreciate your review, so thank you so much for giving me one.

Lastly, thanks to you all for taking the time to read my story, I really am grateful for it.

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).

Now, let's get this show on board again:

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Chapter 29 – Ūgama

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When I awoke again, I was alone in the hut. Like literally alone. Sango and Kirara were gone. I hastily got up and zeroed in on the empty sleeping mat that Sango had occupied for the last four days. Did the others know that she was awake?

With no one inside the hut, other than me, I quickly scurried out of the building. The sun was up in the sky on a slow descent towards west. From the position of the sun, I would guess that we were in the middle of the afternoon. How long had I been asleep?

No time to ponder about how long. I had to find the others and tell them that Sango was up and walking. I quickly scanned the empty village with my eyes while I tried to feel after Kirara's and InuYasha's yōki. Slowly I headed in the direction of the entrance when I felt both Kirara's and InuYasha's yōki. When I had found out where their energies were coming from – the were coming closer to the entrance – I ran towards the entrance.

Before I could reach the entrance, I saw the others enter the village. InuYasha was in the front and had his head turned towards Kagome, who was on InuYasha's right with Kirara in her arms. Miroku was on InuYasha's left with Shippō sitting on the monk's right shoulder. But I couldn't see Sango amongst them. Once more, I got reminded that she was up and running.

I had frozen in my steps when I had seen their approaching forms, but I soon got back in motion and ran towards them.

"Guys! GUYS!" I hollered in a panicky manner.

They all stopped up and looked at me in alarm, induced by the tone of my holler. I swiftly reached them and stopped up a few feet in front of InuYasha. Quickly I caught my breath and spilled the beans.

"Have you seen her? Seen Sango?!" I asked quickly.

They looked amongst themselves with puzzlement, but before they could get a word out, I said in a hurried manner: "She's apparently up and running! She was not in the hut!"

Taking a deep breath, I spoke again before anyone of them could get a word in: "I don't think she's well enough to be walking around without someone keeping an eye on her! She was hurt really badly when we met her and shouldn't be up already!"

I took another deep breath, feeling worried about Sango's health. Miroku said my name in a patient manner, but I didn't pay enough attention to the tone in his voice.

"We must find her before she gets hurt!"

Kagome sighed at my exclamations.

"HEY!" InuYasha yelled at me, finally getting my attention.

I stopped my worried ramblings and looked at the hanyō. He turned to the side and showed me a tired looking young woman on his back. It was none other than Sango who looked at me with a confused expression on her pretty face.

"Oh!" I slowly said when I finally realized that she was being carried on InuYasha's back.

"I guess you already found her," I said embarrassedly and scratched the back of my neck.

"She was never lost," InuYasha deadpanned at me.

I could only laugh nervously in response. Dear kami, I had panicked over her wellbeing without there being any need for it. I felt slightly flustered with my brief mother-hen-syndrome I had experienced for less than a minute. Was Kagome's 'easy-to-worry'-ness finally catching on to me?

"So… Where were you guys?" I slowly asked.

Shippō was the one to answer: "Sango told us a story about Miko Midoriko while we were back in the limestone cave."

"Miko Midoriko?" I questioned confusedly.

Kagome stepped forward and slowly placed a hand on my waist, turning me around and leading me back to the hut.

"We tried to wake you up so you could've joined us, but you were so deep in sleep that not even InuYasha's holler could wake you up," she said humorously, and I could hear the others beginning to follow us.

Kirara had left Kagome's arms and had jumped up on my right shoulder, purring softly into my ear. I had a feeling that she was silently laughing at my expense, if her closed eyes were any indication of what the small feline yōkai was doing.

"Riii~ght…" I said sarcastically, like I knew exactly what they had been up to.

Kagome laughed gently at my response. But I really wanted to know what Shippō had talked about.

"But who is this Miko Midoriko?" I asked seriously.

"She's the beautiful woman in the limestone cave," Miroku said behind me.

I glanced over my left shoulder to look at him with a questioning look; I still had no clue about who they were talking about. Then InuYasha huffed in annoyance and cleared my confusion.

"The one with a hole in her chest! The woman you said that was human, back when we were in the cave the first time!"

"Ahh!" I said in realization then asked my next question: "What was her story?"

"The long version or the short version?" Shippō asked me from Miroku's shoulder.

I glanced back at Kagome, who still rested her arm around my waist in a friendly manner and guided me to the entrance of the hut. She let go when I entered it. When I was inside and had stepped to the side so that the others could get in as well, I turned to the side and looked at her once more while she came in. She entered and walked over to her sleeping bag and sat down on top of it.

"Trust me when I say the long version is confusing and complicated to understand… Something about mitama, mitama, mitama, and mitama… I don't even remember what they're called again…"

I looked at her confusedly and decided to join her on her sleeping bag.

"Ara-mitama, Nigi-mitama, Kushi-mitama, and Saki-mitama!" Miroku clarified Kagome's 'mitama's' in a serious manner as he entered and sat down against the wall he usually slept against.

But I had no idea what they were and looked at Miroku with as much confusion as I was feeling inside. I felt like nothing at all made sense at that moment.

He gave a gentle sigh before he held up a finger in the air: "Ara-mitama is courage," then he held up a second finger in the air, "Nigi-mitama is kinship," a third finger joined the other two, "Kushi-mitama is wisdom."

Then lastly, he held a fourth finger and said: "Saki-mitama is love. When together, these become one spirit, and resides in the heart of a person."

I looked at him thoughtfully, trying to keep up with what he was telling me: "Human nature is correctly maintained in between them."

I was still not getting the meaning of those four … things, he had named for me: "But what are they exactly?"

He looked at me with serious eyes, "Souls."

"Souls?" I asked him thoughtfully, which he nodded to in agreement.

"But I thought that humans only had one soul?"

"Yes and no," he replied to my question, "What you are referring to as 'one soul' is in fact one's spirit, which consists of four souls."

Kagome was looking dizzy as Miroku was explaining the concept of souls and spirit. I thought I got the jest of it, but I couldn't see how it was related to this Miko Midoriko.

"I think I get what you're saying that a spirit consists of four different souls. But I still don't get what this has to do with this Miko Midoriko."

He sighed gently before he tried to make the connections clear for me: "In a normal person, one of the souls would be the more dominant soul and characterize once character. Souls are neutral but can become good or evil with the actions the owner of the souls make."

"Miko Midoriko was spiritually powerful enough to purify all four souls and therefor purify lesser yōkai with her mere presence."

Suddenly a light lit in my brain when I got the connections connected: "Wait a minute, are you saying four souls as in definition to the Shikon no Tama? Is Miko Midoriko the reason that that blasted jewel exists?"

Kagome gasped at my question: "Wait, you actually understand all this 'four souls'? I still don't get it!"

I looked at her feeling crossed: "Hey, just because I'm a brawny girl doesn't mean that I can't use my brain sometimes!"

She chuckled nervously at my little outburst and I could only sigh at what her chuckle insinuated: "Jeez Kagome-chan, thanks for the vote of confidence in my brain!"

Miroku cleared his throat and said: "Yes, she is the one who created the Shikon no Tama, but there's more to the story than that she simply made it."

"What do you mean there's more to it?"

This time, it was Sango that answered my question: "What he means is: Miko Midoriko exorcised Shikon and was very experienced in using the spell to transform yōkai's power into nothing. That's why the yōkai feared her and tried to take her life."

I turned my attention to Sango, who was now sitting on her sleeping mat. I hadn't even registered that InuYasha had carried her over to her sleeping mat and moved away again. I had been completely focused on Miroku's explanation of Shikon.

"To overcome Midoriko's spiritual powers, much evil was needed. There was a man who secretly loved Miko Midoriko. The yōkai took advantage of the man's weakness and possessed him. Many yōkai merged into one by using said man's evil heart as an anchor."

"So that giant yōkai within the cave was actually one hanyō?" I asked her.

"I wouldn't call it a hanyō since there basically was nothing left of the man, other than his corporal self. His soul was devoured by the many yōkai."

I nodded to her, indicating that she could continue with the tale, which she did, her voice a tired timber though her voice was relaxing to listen to: "The massive yōkai fought Miko Midoriko for seven days and seven nights, until finally, Midoriko had exhausted her power and her body was eaten."

"At that moment, when the yōkai was consuming her body, Midoriko used the last of her power and seized the yōkai's soul. Her own soul was taken in with her last attempt to defeat the yōkai, and their souls were expelled from her body. Their bodies died, but a small cluster of souls remained and that is the Shikon no Tama."

"So, the Shikon no Tama isn't just Midoriko's soul… but also the yōkai's soul?" I asked.

"Exactly," Sango said, "Their souls continue to fight within the Jewel. Depending on the soul of who holds the Jewel, they become better or worse."

This made me raise a brow at her in confusion, but I could see how tired she was, so I turned my attention to Miroku in hopes that he would explain it to me.

He did: "In other words, if a yōkai or an evil person holds it, their corruption increases. But if someone with a pure soul holds it, then they are cleansed."

I glanced over at Kagome. It was no wonder that she could hold onto the jewel without being corrupted. I knew of no one who had a purer soul than her. But it made me wonder: if I ever got a hold of it, what would happen? Would I be a corrupter?

I had a feeling that I would become more like a yōkai than I would become a human. Though I, in theory, was more human than I was a mononoke, I was still a descendant of two powerful yōkai bloodlines. There was no telling how powerful exactly, since I didn't have enough knowledge on either bloodlines. This made me think about Gin, and I tried to reach her in my mind. But there was no response from her. Why wasn't she responding to my callings?

I began to worry that something was wrong with her.

"The Jewel came back to our village during my ojī-san's time," Sango said in a slow manner, "He got it from a mononoke he had exterminated, but ojī-san succumbed to the wounds he had acquired doing the fight. It had been badly corrupted and was send off to a young miko, who was in possession of purifying powers and could purify the Shikon no Tama."

Before I could ask who that miko was, Kagome said in a low voice right next to me: "It was Kikyō."

I was surprised to hear this, but it seemed to fit perfectly into the already assembled puzzle. This was why Naraku had targeted Kikyō; she was a pure soul that he wanted to corrupt. Thus, corrupting the jewel in the process. But he hadn't taken into consideration of how pure Kikyō's intentions were. She was burned with the jewel, which resulted it in Kagome having it inside her body, since she's the reincarnation of the then dead, now undead, Miko Kikyō.

"Well," Sango sighed and lied down on her sleeping mat, "That's how the Shikon no Tama came to exist."

She yawned while she shuffled on top of her mat, trying to find a good position to fall asleep in. That's when Kirara jumped down from my shoulder and quickly trotted over to her owner. I had completely forgotten that Kirara had been on my shoulder this entire time.

She mewled at Sango insistently and I looked at the feline's behavior with puzzlement.

"Kirara?"

Sango seemed to be just as confused as I felt about Kirara's behavior. She sat up and looked down at the feline with confused wonder. Then, Kirara quickly ran over to me and jumped up on my right shoulder and bushed her head against me in a loving gesture. She did the same gesture a couple more times before she turned her insistent red eyes over to Sango again, imploring her to do something.

I felt more than confused with how Kirara was acting up. What did she want?

"Kirara, what are you trying to tell me?" Sango asked her confusedly while she looked at her like she was an unsolvable enigma.

"Kew!" Kirara said insistently and turned her red gaze back on me.

I looked into the sweet but confusing mononoke's red eyes, still not getting what the problem was.

"Does she act like this normally?" I asked Sango and turned my green eyes over to look into her brown eyes.

"No…" She said, but her sentence ended abruptly like she cut herself short.

Then she was scrutinizing me.

"Wait a minute," Sango then murmured, and her eyes widened up in surprise.

"Your name was Aiko, ne?" she asked me.

I could only nod to her question, but it seemed to be enough for her.

"Can you come closer?" she then asked me.

Kirara chose to jump down from my shoulder and run over to her owner, but Sango's focus stayed solely on me. Slowly I got up and walked over to her. I kneeled down in front of her, a couple of feet of distance in between us. When I had situated myself down in front of her, she grabbed a hold of my chin and forcefully pulled my face closer to hers. I blushed at the notion; there wasn't much space in between our faces. She kept a strong hold on my chin and turned my head a bit to the right, then a bit to the left, clearly studying my eyes. Why was she so suddenly obsessed with my eyes?

The distance between us felt uncomfortable and I licked my suddenly parched lips nervously. What was she looking after?

"Those eyes…" she mumbled to herself and then turned my head this way and that, her focus only on my eyes.

"How's it…?" she then mumbled to herself, but interrupted herself in her own questioning, only to mumble once more: "It can't be… but those eyes… there's no mistake… but he doesn't have a family…"

"Who are you talking about?" I whispered nervously.

She let go of my chin and I quickly pulled myself back a bit, creating much needed space in between us. Her eyes were hard while she stared right into my green eyes.

"You must be related to Ūgama-san! But it's impossible! He doesn't have any family!"

Then to my surprise, her brown eyes became as hard as steel while she sneered in a threatening manner: "Who are you?"

"Kew?" Kirara mewled in a questioning manner, clearly seeming to not have expected Sango's sudden negative behavior.

I was confused at what had happened here, but I did pick up on something that didn't make sense in my mind: "Who's Ūgama?"

Sango sneered at me: "Don't avoid my question! Who are you?!"

I raised my hands up in a non-threatening manner and slowly said: "My name's Aiko, and I'm a childhood friend of Kagome-chan…"

This seemed to change her demeanor and she now looked surprised at me, only to quickly shift her attention over to Kagome. Her gaze was appraising as she looked at Kagome. I turned my gaze to look at my best friend and could she how worried Kagome looked. She was clearly worried about the sudden change in Sango's demeanor.

"We're not from this time period," I then said to Sango in a serious manner, trying to pull her attention away from Kagome.

It worked. Sango shifted her gaze back to me; she looked like she didn't trust me.

"I don't know what Kagome has told you, but if it hadn't occurred to you, her clothes are different."

Her eyes were still narrowed while she looked at me incredulously. Though her demeanor suddenly changed, and she looked thoughtful.

"I did get the feeling that she wasn't from around here," she said in a thoughtful manner, "But you're saying that you are from the same place as she is?"

"Yes," I said patiently while I gave her a solitude nod, "We came here together from the future. We fell through Kagome-chan's family well and ended up on this annoying crusade of gathering those blasted Jewel shards…"

"You don't look like you're from the future…" Sango interrupted me, "She looks like she doesn't belong here," she added while she pointed a finger at Kagome, "But you are not human… not completely anyways."

I sighed at her comment; she was apparently able to discern my yōki: "Long story short: I was raised as a human and has only recently found out about my yōkai blood. But other than the knowledge that I'm a descendant of two powerful yōkai bloodlines, I have no knowledge about whom I'm a descendant of."

To my surprise, Kagome added in her own yen to the conversation: "A lot can happen in five hundred years…"

Kagome's comment made Sango's brows rise up in surprise and she quickly glanced over at Kagome before she intensified her gaze on me: "Do you have a sword?"

I seemed a bit confused about her sudden question but chose to play along with her idea: "I've inherited an ōdachi from my otō-san…"

"Show it to me!"

Her command was so abrupt that I froze for a second, but I soon gathered my thoughts and nodded. Looking over my shoulder, I glanced at Kagome.

"Could you hand it to me? It's right next to my sleeping bag…"

She nodded and quickly found it. Presenting it to me like a professional would present it, I grabbed a gentle hold of the saya.

"Thanks," I said gently and showed it off to Sango.

She stared at it intently, and I could easily see that she recognized it.

"How's that possible? It looks exactly like Ōginsairensā!" she said, marveled by my sheathed weapon.

"It is Ōginsairensā," I said accusingly, feeling slightly crossed that she would believe that my Ōginsairensā wasn't real.

"Can you use it? Can you use the move Rakurai?" she looked up at me with disbelief.

Apparently she wasn't satisfied with seeing it sheathed, and I had a feeling that she wouldn't accept my statement about being able to use the move Rakurai. Though, I had only done it twice, and the second time it hadn't worked. The Peach Man had apparently been made of rubber the moment I had used the move; or at least resistant to any attacks we had made. So, I unsheathed Ōginsairensā and held it up in front of me. The blade gleamed lightly in the low light that entered the hut from outside while I held it up with the sharp side upwards and the length of the blade parallel with my shoulders. I closed my eyes and sought inwards, seeking out Gin.

I had to look for a while, but when I finally found her, she seemed weary and tired.

Gin, I need your yōki for a moment…

She sighed at me like she was exhausted, but I could feel her yōki flow inside me. I grabbed a greedy hold of it and let the warm feeling of her yōki engulf my being. But I could easily feel how much it was draining her and I decided to make it a quick show. I poured my yōki into the blade and opened my eyes. Ōginsairensā was shining a brilliant silver, lighting up the room with its silvery glow.

I then lowered the blade so that I could look Sango in the eye.

"Is it enough for you, or do want to be shocked?" I asked her impatiently.

Gin's yōki was vibrating in my voice, and I fought to keep her yōki up and flowing through me, awaiting Sango's response.

"I believe you," she whispered, her eyes solemnly focused on my silver glowing blade for another second before she shifted her gaze up to meet my own.

I gave her a nod and let go of Gin's yōki, which quickly disappeared from my grasp. She retracted into the depths of my mind, where I almost lost the connection I had with her. Something was clearly wrong with her. She seemed worn out and barely alive.

I exhaled a heavy breath of air and lowered my blade down to rest on top of my lap. This demonstration seemed more taxing on me than ever before. I had a feeling that it had something to do with my mother's blood within me.

Sweat had begun to form on my brow, and I was panting like I had just run a marathon. I looked up at Sango and she seemed to have decided on telling me something important.

"You're clearly a descendant of Ūgama-san…"

I sighed in exasperation and began to feel impatient: "You've said that name once but haven't told me who the hell he is."

She seemed apologetic with her distrust and finally spilled the beans: "Hiito Ūgama is a taijiya… and a descendent of an inu daiyōkai!"

This caught me by surprise. A descendant of an inu daiyōkai. Did this per chance mean that he was an ancestor of mine? Why else would she mention this man?

"You have his eyes, which my chichi-ue told me was the mark of his yōkai blood. You can only be a descendant of his bloodline!"

"Is he a hanyō?" Miroku then asked her.

I had completely forgotten that the others were still here, and I looked over at him with shock filling my eyes.

"Second generation," Sango said, turning her attention to the hōshi, "His otō-san was a hanyō while his okā-san was a human. They were both taijiya. At least that's what I've been told."

"What do you know about his lineage? About this inu daiyōkai he is a descendant of?" I asked, more than curious to find out about him.

If I really was a descendant of him, then I had finally gotten a big piece of my puzzle in place; I was finally a step closer to figure out who I was and learn something important about my father's bloodline.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about the inu daiyōkai Ūgama-san is a descendant of. My chichi-ue didn't tell me everything about Ūgama-san, only enough to know that he was a trustful person… a comrade in arms."

"Then what can you tell me about him? I need to know!"

I was more than ecstatic about learning about one part of my heritage, though it seemed that she didn't have that much information about his bloodline. But if she knew just a tiny bit, it was an immense help.

"Not much else. Well, he is about sixty winters but looks like he's only lived about twenty/thirty winters," she said thoughtfully.

I nodded encouragingly at her, impatient to know more about my possible ancestor.

"I know that he was on a mission in a small village down south. He always worked alone. No one ever accompanied him around… I still think his down south…"

"Where's this village?!" I questioned her seriously.

"About a week's travel on foot down south. It's close to the sea…"

I hastily got up from my kneeled position and turned around. Ōginsairensā was in my right hand while the saya fell to the floor, its emptiness clattering hollowly. My eyes landed on InuYasha, staring at him with pleading eyes.

"We need to go there!" I exclaimed passionately.

If there was any possibility that I could get answers from this Hiito Ūgama, then I had to find him!

InuYasha got up from his sitting position and stared annoyedly at me: "We aren't going after some guy you may or may not be related to!"

"But I need answers!" I yelled at him, pleading him to see reason.

I needed to know about my lineage!

"No! We can't storm off to some weird place where some guy may be… For all we know, he's dead!"

"But…" I stated frustratedly, but InuYasha wouldn't hear any of my arguments: "We need to focus on the Shikon Jewel shards! There's simply no time to go find one guy!"

He began to head out of the hut but stopped up in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at me with a determined demeanor: "If we want to find the shards before Naraku does, then we simply don't have the time to look after some guy who may have the answers you're looking after!"

With his last statement, he exited the hut and left the rest of us in an unpleasant silence. I felt hopeless with his brutal exit. Couldn't he see that I needed to know what was happening to me? What I was? He already had the answers that he needed, so why couldn't we spare the time I needed to get mine?

"Aiko-chan?" Kagome said in a concerned manner.

I glanced over at her and saw how much she wished to help me out here, but she didn't know what she could do. A shallow sigh escaped my lips and I bowed down after the saya to Ōginsairensā, then slowly sheathed my weapon.

"He's right," I said hollowly, though I didn't want him to be right, "We need to find the shards before Naraku does!"

I stuffed my weapon into the back of my obi and headed towards the entrance of the hut.

"I'm sorry, Aiko-san… I wish that I hadn't mentioned Ūgama-san…" Sango said in a somber voice, clearly feeling guilty about disrupting the peace in our group.

I glanced over my shoulder to look over at her: "Don't be sorry. I really appreciate that you told me about him."

With my comment to Sango, I exited the hut and hurriedly walked out of the village. I needed to figure out what my next step should be… On one hand, I had to stay with the group and protect Kagome the best I could. I needed to be close to her. After all, she was the reason I was back here with her in the first place. But on the other hand, I really needed some answers. I felt unstable with how things were at the moment. Gin was growing weaker and I needed to do something about it. I couldn't let her perish; I had become somewhat dependent on her. Besides, I kind of liked her. She had helped me through the first steps in being a yōkai and shed some light onto my whole dilemma of my heritage. If this Ūgama really was my ancestor, then surely he could help me help her. Couldn't he?

What should I do?

A/N: And that's that for now. What do you think of this new revelation? Is this Hiito Ūgama really her ancestor? What do you think Aiko will do?

Btw, just to not get any of you confused, Ūgama is his first name while Hiito is his last name. I only mention it so that we are on the same page.

Until next time, stay safe.

A/N – a few glossaries:

Chichi-ue – a reverent term for father.

Hiito Ūgama – (非意図;植う我慢 – Unintentional; to grow patience).