Kagome struggled with the mud under her as her fingers clawed the sake soaked earth, tears welling up as she ignored her grandfather's words above her. She just had to get there! She just couldn't give up something as inconsequential as her emotions! They had nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to get back... Shaking her head she shook the thoughts out of her head. I promised I would fix what I did and I will do that! As her vision blurred with the tears that didn't seem to want to stop she wasn't sure what caused the bright light that blinded her and yet made her feel warm with its appearance. She didn't stop digging tho, her hands scrapping back the layers even when they disappeared from under her hands. Blinking she found herself looking into a pair of blue eyes, a small form tackling her on the left side. Reaching out, she hugged Shippo to her as Miroku smiled at her.
"It's good to see you, Lady Kagome," he said, his eyes failing to notice that her hair was shorter in the darkness of the well. Before she could answer him, the well shifted again, lightning rippling above them.
"Kagome! I was afraid you weren't coming back!" the kitsune cried, tears falling down his cheeks. She turned to him, barely able to make him out in the dark that again fell over the well. She looked back to Miroku, a question in her eyes.
"What is going on?" she asked, standing up with Shippo in her arms. Another flash of light above her brought an answer as Hiten glared down at the trio. She fell back against the well wall, Miroku moving in front of her, but before Hiten could do anything a flash of red and silver knocked him off, some of his blood flying down to hit the trio in the face.
"That was the other Thunder Brother," Shippo stated, clinging to her tank top's strap. "He's here for revenge." She remembered what Shippo had said about the brothers.
"That's Hiten, the stronger one right?" He nodded and she turned to Miroku again. "We ran into his brother a while back, before all the stuff that happened with..." she faded off, gesturing with her hand what she couldn't seem to bring herself to say. "You know." He understood, but the male that had been there moments ago had had a rather dark aura coming off of him and it was one that he had felt only days ago when dealing with the ogress and the dead priestess. He knew she didn't want to talk about it, but he had to say it.
"Did you feel the aura, Lady Kagome?" At her light nod he turned back to look up at the skies above them. Some sounds of battle could still be heard, but faintly now. It seemed that Inuyasha had managed to get the demon away from them. He was unaware though that the demon was after Kagome and with the reward offered to him the demon would not relent in his pursuit of the bounty. "We need to find out if he is somehow connected to the ogress and the demon that brought Kikyo's soul forth." She agreed with him, but instead of answering him she put Shippo on the ground and began to climb up out of the well. "You should-" Shooting him a glare she reminded him that Inuyasha was fighting the demon alone and there had to be some way to help him. When he simply nodded she was sure he was still against her going up, but he shocked her with his sudden assistance to push her up to the lip. "First make sure that they're not anywhere near the well. I doubt that Inuyasha would be so kind to me if you were injured or worse." She scoffed at him, but still did what he said, her chocolate orbs taking in the mild destruction of the forest from the battle.
"Looks fine," she said and climbing out before she assisted in getting the pair out. As soon as she turned to locate the pair fighting someone dove out from the clouds toward her, their form blurred, but she could see that it wasn't Inuyasha. With a gasp she found herself knocked over, Miroku opening his hand to protect her from the demon who was looking rather dirty from his battle with the Hanyou. When the winds began to pull the demon in Miroku found that he could feel the electricity from the forked rod in Hiten's hand.
"Fuck off, human!" the demon yelled as he struck out with the forked end. It hit his hand and the tunnel of wind was redirected toward the village in the distance. As he closed his wind tunnel the demon used his rod to knock him away, Inuyasha showing up moments later looking worse for wear. Hiten reached for Kagome, but she was faster and Shippo was still close enough that when the other demon turned he jumped up to latch his teeth onto Hiten's neck. "Fucking pest!" the demon cried out, his hand grasping Shippo's small form and tugging as hard as he could, unable to remove his adversary he moved to strike him with the sparking end of the rod. Kagome saw this at the same time as she saw Inuyasha's gaping mouth, his form moving quickly to strike the demon before he could harm the kitsune. She moved forward, even knowing that the Hanyou was going to assist her she could tell that in his state he was losing too much blood to move quick enough and holding out her hands she willed her body to assist her. At first it didn't seem as if she were going to get anywhere when her hands began to glow a light pink tint, glowing brighter by the second, but she didn't wait for it to grow stronger. Shoving the demon back, her hands burning thru his armor, melting it with a single touch, she heard his scream of agony. The purifying power coming off of her managed to change the two jewels in his head back to their original coloring.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he made contact with the demon, his bloodied claws tearing into the back of Hiten. Even though she had been able to bring the power forward she was still unskilled with the power and unable to control it she couldn't stop it from bursting out and obliterating the Thunder Brother, his body twisting in pain as he disintegrated before them from the combined attack. Falling to her knees before the disappearing body Kagome could feel her energy depleting from the attack, Shippo falling to the ground from receiving a small hit of her power. She managed to stop herself from grabbing the kitsune, allowing Inuyasha to pick up the small fox child. When he made a move toward her, she shook her head.
"Don't," she whispered, the aura of her power fading as she closed her eyes, her hands palms up as she willed it to stop. She didn't have to wait long for the power to dispel, but not from her willing it. It stopped on its own, her body still slightly weak from the soul stealing done to her only days before. Sighing she reached out for the offered hand of Inuyasha. "Didn't want to purify you or him," she stated. Standing up she took the small fox into her arms and with a side glance at the Hanyou she headed toward the village. "Should get him to Kaede." There was a small burn on the kitsune's cheeks, her expression becoming worried. "I think he got a little of the purification powers." Inuyasha opened his mouth, but at the muted look in her eyes he changed his mind and the group headed back to the village with Inuyasha staying back with Miroku.
"So, there was a shard in the well," the monk stated and when Inuyasha gave him a curious look he explained about the jewel being needed for her to come thru and had there not been a jewel in the well Kagome would have never been able to return. "Unless you had given up on pouting and had gone and got her yourself." The Hanyou's expression hardened at the brisk reminder of his previous attitude. "Seriously, what is up with you and her?"
"Nothing," he muttered, but before he could move away from the monk, said monk grabbed his upper arm, holding him still with very little power. Inuyasha growled low in warning to the touch, but Miroku didn't release him and even though the half demon could have removed his grip he didn't. He waited.
"Kagome isn't anyone to you and yet, you seem rather worried about her." He grunted in response. "Is it because of Kikyo?" Tensing the male finally tugged his arm free of Miroku's grasp. "I can tell you right now," he said softly turning to watch Kagome disappear down the hill. "She's not her, even if her soul once belonged to the Miko you knew."
"You don't know either of them," Inuyasha spat before resuming his walk. Miroku shook his head at the male, but also continued the journey to Kaede's hut. It didn't take too long to get there, tho Inuyasha was struggling a bit with his injuries. It was strange that Kagome hadn't even given him her customary spiel of how he needed to have her look at it, but at the muted look in her eyes he could tell she was still angry with him about something. Was it because of Kikyo? He was hurt that she didn't seem to act the same, but with what the monk had said he began to wonder what it all meant.
"We need to talk," Kagome said, not looking up as she stopped in front of Kaede's door. "After the pair of you get looked at." At his scoff she huffed. "I mean it, Inuyasha." Entering the hut she was followed by the pair of males. Kaede didn't seem all that shocked at the appearance of the girl from the future or the mangled form that was Inuyasha, his blood still dripping lightly on the wooden floor of her home. She was surprised when Kagome told her what had happened tho, and moving quickly she gathered all the herbs needed to assist in the healing of Shippo. Kagome turned to Inuyasha after getting her bag from the corner. She said nothing as she hauled out her first aid supplies and sat down before him. At first it seemed that he wouldn't allow her to help him, but noting that there was a bit of fire coming thru her still semi-mute eyes he 'keh'd her and pulled down his fire-rat so she could see the wound to his shoulder. "Really?" He looked away from her with another soft 'keh'. Shippo groaned as his face began to heal, his green eyes opening as Kaede went to put her herbs away. He didn't say anything as he moved closer to Miroku, his green eyes watching the pair further toward the back of the hut.
"It's the only really bad one, tho it will heal just fine." Shaking her head, her short hair brushing up against her cheeks. "What happened to your hair?" he asked softly, his clawed finger coming out to touch the raven locks. She didn't answer for a moment, concentrating on cleaning the wound while at the same time noting that he was right. It was healing rather quickly. Sighing she finally looked at him, his own eyes glancing away for a moment before coming back to rest on her.
"Was getting tired of people attacking it," she said simply, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that it was something else. Her scent had even changed subtly with her response that told him it was a lie, but he didn't push her. She turned to Miroku. "Could I have the shards now?" He nodded and handed them over, but he was staring at her rather strangely. "What?" she asked, sounding rather upset with the probing stare.
"Just making sure, you know, with all that you just went thru days ago, that you were fine," he said with a warm smile. She smiled at his compassion. "So, now that we are all here I think we need to figure out what all of have in common with Naraku." She scoffed lightly.
"I don't know what I have in common with that name," she said. "Don't even know who that is except for I assume he had to do with that demon that led us to the ogress." At the raised brows in the room she explained further. "The demon's name was Narakunoshimobe and he seemed to be working for someone other than the ogress."
"Servant of the Abyss?" Kaede said softly, curious about the name as much as the person he must have been serving.
"And it wasn't just his name," Kagome continued looking thoughtful for a moment. "It was what he said to Kikyo when we were just passing the village." There was a pause as she remembered the feeling when he had uttered those words. "It said it was a riddle of sorts. You can kill me, but I will not die." The silence that fell over the group was deafening as they all pondered on the riddle. "I think that he was there," she said, breaking the silence. "He was there with her in my mind."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha growled, worry causing his voice to sound harsh. She shook her head.
"It was strange, you know. There was her voice after..." she faded off for a moment, unable to tell him all of what had happened in her dream state. She still couldn't remember it all even now. The feelings that she had felt in that dream not her own and yet she owned them. "But before that there was a male, he looked like Inuyasha, his tone similar." The Hanyou winced. "His tone was soooo cold though and he was standing before me, taunting me, but really he was talking to Kikyo." There was a gasp from the two that knew Kikyo, Shippo and Miroku staring at her in confusion. "It was like I was reliving her memories, but in her body and her point of view." Inuyasha and Kaede wanted to ask more, the pair having failed to be there at the fatal blow of the woman both had cared for. "Then that same voice told me that she failed... she failed to do what he had planned for her to do."
"He planned her to do?" Inuyasha whispered in confusion. A question that had Kaede looking thoughtful.
"I think I know who our mysterious enemy is," she said. This drew all their attentions. "Would you like to see where he originated from?"
Treading over the hills and down a rather hidden path that was now covered with grass that hit their waists Kaede led them to where the one she believed to be their enemy had been. "He was a bandit," she stated. "His name was Onigumo and he was burned so badly that not an inch of him wasn't covered in bandages. Kikyo suspected that he had fallen from somewhere high, like a cliff as his bones were broken to the point that he would never walk again." Inuyasha raised a brow at what the older Miko was stating.
"Why would she help a criminal?" He was angry at the fact that she had nursed the other male and also that she had hidden it from him. "She should have let him die." Miroku shook his head, pointing out that as a Miko she would do what was right and not taint herself by letting another person die. "Fat load of good it did her." Kagome walked slowly behind the pair of males, Shippo holding onto her shoulder since his height was shorter than the grass they pushed thru. Kagome paused, her pace halting as a small headache began to form at her temples. She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping that the pain would fade just as quickly as it had come upon her. Shippo called her name softly. Opening her eyes she shook her head at him, letting him know that she was fine.
"Are you sure?" he asked, still worried by the paling of her already light skin tone. Nodding she continued on, catching up with the trio up ahead, but when they came around the corner her eyes widened at the cave before her. She could feel the death that seemed to haunt even the outside of the cave.
"Hey, we probably should be careful," Kagome warned, drawing the eyes of the group on her. "I just have a bad feeling about that cave is all." Kaede nodded at her insight, but felt there was more to it. She continued her tale about the bandit that had breathed his last breath in the cave. Inuyasha interrupted her as they reached the opening of the cave.
"He was a human," he stated, irritated that their lead may not pan out to anything of importance. She nodded, but still entered the cave as though what he had said meant nothing when it came to this particular human. "Naraku is a youkai," he stated again, but still following her into the darkness with Miroku following close behind. Kagome paused at the entrance, peering into the small space.
"He was a vile man," she replied, ignoring his snarky tone. "And he was also entranced with the idea of making my sister dark like he was." She paused, her mind on the time when she had been but a child following behind her sister. She had idolized her sister, looking up to her as she learned the ways of a Miko from her. "I told my sister of what he had said, his wish to see her defiled with malice." Shaking her head she moved further into the cave. "My sister just reminded me that he was to be pitied since he would never leave that cave."
"Kagome?" Miroku called out, noticing that she hadn't entered the cave, her brown eyes watching the place with a wariness that seemed unusual with the fact that they were the only ones there. She blinked at him, almost as if she had come out of trance. "Aren't you coming?" She nodded, forcing her legs to walk into the damp space, but still moving slowly. The Hanyou watched her as Kaede continued to move further into the cave where a spot that was bare of all foliage. He walked back over to Kagome and eyed her with mild concern.
"What's wrong with you?" he inquired. She gazed at him and then shaking her head she replied that nothing was wrong before suddenly grasping his sleeve, her fingers tightening as he turned away from her. He was getting irritated with her mood swings, but when she held onto his sleeve he turned back to her in surprise.
"There's something here," she whispered. He looked around, the cave was brighter from the back where a hole had formed past where Kaede stood. Kagome walked further into the cave, her fingers still holding onto his sleeve, dragging him with her as she looked around. "Something evil." Miroku nodded as he took a look at the spot where Kaede stood.
"There was something here, judging by the way that there is nothing growing here in this spot." Kagome shook her head, still moving closer to the spot, while her tense body betrayed how un-nerved she was by the feeling overwhelming her. She gave them no answer as she drew Inuyasha further into the cave, past the spot that the older Miko stood.
"Kikyo died shortly after her last visit with him, leaving him to survive on his own, but I came to see if he was still alive in this cave the day after and it was burn up." She turned to Miroku. "Not even his bones remained." The monk voiced his suspicions about the criminal, sure that he was indeed Naraku and that he had succeeded in regaining his mobility with the aide of demons that had more than likely eaten his body, consuming his soul. "Then you believe that he is now a youkai?"
"No," Kagome stated, her right hand coming out to touch the rocks that formed a wall in the back of the cave. "He would still have a heart, evil as it was." Inuyasha raised a brow at her wording. She talked as if she knew him. "It would have retained his humanity and in that humanity the emotions that cloud the judgement of all humans." She didn't follow his plan. She didn't allow him to change her heart. She felt nothing for this man but pity. It was so strange. At one moment she had been stroking the warm wall, strange as it was so cool in the cave, and the next minute she found herself in the cave looking down at a rather scary looking pair of eyes. The person was indistinguishable with his body covered in bandages, but she knew him...or at least some part of her soul knew the hateful male.
Inuyasha was still standing behind her, her hand was still holding onto his sleeve, but her mind...Her mind was elsewhere and he couldn't see that with her eyes turned from him. "Kagome." Silence greeted him. "Oi, Kagome!" he called again. He was about to call her name again when a smell that could only be described as sweet wafted from close to where the small girl stood. He didn't call her name this time, yanking her back from the edge as a form seemed to come from the shadows near the rocks. She fell back, her eyes blinking as she took in the form of Kikyo walking toward them. "Kikyo?" She looked as she had on that day. Blood stained her top, no longer bleeding as she stepped forward, her face twisted with malice at the male before her.
"Inuyasha," she whispered, the angry taint to her voice making him push Kagome away from him and to the arms of Miroku. Kaede stood there in shock, her old body tensing at the sight of her injured sister. "You shouldn't be alive! You should be dead with me, rotting in Hell!" she hissed before her form began to fade, the Hanyou reaching out for her ghostly form before it was gone. He turned to see that Miroku was now at his side, Kagome looking away from the group and toward the entrance. Her body was tense, almost skittish in the way she looked like she wanted to run from the place.
"Meaningless deception," Mirkoku scoffed.
"He knew we were coming here?" Kaede asked in disbelief. "How?" No one could give her the answer, the silence stretching out until Kagome walked away. Her footsteps echoed against the rocks as she slipped out and back into the sunlight. Shippo held onto her again, having left her side when she had started acting weird. He was still a little shaken from the last time she had gone into a daze. The day that had Kikyo had invaded her mind, dividing their spirits in her body. No one followed her, the three thinking about the male that had destroyed a piece of each of them. Kaede had lost her sister, her only family. Miroku was cursed to die by the hole in his hand, his family doomed to live a full life and Inuyasha. He had lost the love of his life. "Why is it so quiet?" the older lady inquired as she moved to exit the cave. When she stepped into the light her gasp brought the two males out of the desolate area. What they found when they exited made their blood run cold.
Kagome stood before them, her form frozen in fear at the creature before them. He was in a baboon fur cloak, his whole body covered save for his mouth. Smirking he turned his attention to them, Inuyasha growling at the still figure. "Kagome." She turned slightly and he fell back at the pallor of her face, her body shaking slightly with the effort it seemed to take to move. He took a step forward, instantly warned by the baboon clothed male.
"I wouldn't do that, half breed," the male hissed. Kagome turned again, her brown eyes watching the male before her, unable to move with the wasp like creature holding onto the front of her shirt, just above her heart. "Unless you want to her to become like her predecessor, a Yurei." He chuckled. "Though, I do like that this girl is more pure than even Kikyo was. That foolish woman allowed the demons in her area to run free and all because she fell in love with a worthless Hanyou." Inuyasha growled at the reference to Kikyo, his eyes staying trained on the girl before him.
"Let her go!" he growled. Miroku played with his beads, itching to release his wind tunnel on the baboon clothed male. The man shook his head, but when Kagome finally did talk, her voice was strong.
"You're him, right?" He turned his attention to her, his smirk growing. "You're Naraku. The abyss."
"Yes, I am the one known as Naraku and you, you are the one that was to die so that I could have Kikyo could be brought back." Silence came over the area, only broken by the male's dark chuckle. "To think that there was one stronger than the rage that stuck to that stupid woman. Heh, she was a weak one compared to your raw power." The bug on her chest clutched tighter to her, her skin breaking from the sharp tips of its legs. Inuyasha found his vision blurring slightly at the smell of Kagome's blood, her mixing with the red of her tank top. "Strange attire you are sporting tho and to think that you, a mere human were able to disappear from my radar and that of that useless thunder demon." The shock was written on their faces at the mention of the demon they had fought earlier that day. "You even managed to purify him."
"What the fuck do you want with her?" Miroku growled, ready to open his wind tunnel with the knowledge that the male before him was the one that had cursed his family, but stuck with the fact that if he did that not only did he put Kagome in danger, but all that were with him. He was stuck unless they could get Kagome free.
"Besides the shards that she has on her," he said with his smirk growing wider. "I think I shall make her my new Narakunoshimobe."
I hope you all enjoyed that chapter.