Inside the wooden castle-like fortress that stood hidden by the side of the cliff, were Hakudoshi, Kohaku and Kagura.
Kohaku and Kagura sat before Hakudoshi who was floating in his barrier waiting for Naraku to return from the Netherworld. Suddenly, in the top half of the barrier a white light appeared, and out came Naraku's head and his mangled body much to the surprise of the others.
After sometime later, Naraku and Hakudoshi sat in the fortress talking while Kagura and kohaku were ordered to wait outside.
"So you're saying that Sesshomaru's sword has gained the power to destroy our barrier?" Hakudoshi asked, looking visibly upset by this new piece of information, "This will mean as long as Sesshomaru is around, he'll foil all of our plans. Is there a way to beat his sword's new power?"
Wearing nothing but a white bamboo fur-like skin that covered his entire body, Naraku kept silent as he thought back on his battle with the InuDaiYoukai, "When Sesshomaru used his sword, he had to use it twice before it was able to penetrate my barrier. This number is significant because it shows the ability of the sword."
"What do you mean?" Hakudoshi said.
"That particular power of the sword has to be used twice, otherwise it won't work." Naraku said, narrowing his eyes as he analyzed his memories, "Right before I left, Sesshomaru used the power of his sword on me once, but it didn't penetrate my barrier. And thinking back to when he first used it, he had to use it twice in order for it to work. I believe the strength of that particular power lies in the first use against my barrier. Since the barrier absorbs the demonic energy of anyone who attacks it and releases it back onto them, the first use of Sesshomaru's sword must act as a poison to weaken the barrier. The second use then destroys it."
"How interesting." Hakudoshi said, "Although I wonder how did Sesshomaru manage to come up with a way to undermine our barrier like that, I'm more so wondering how to counter it."
"I have heard of some rumors of a crystal that has the ability to allow its user to resist any poison that it encounters by absorbing it. The crystal is called the 'Tsubamerokku'. The Tsubamerokku can do this no matter how deadly the poison is. With such a crystal-like that the barrier would be able to withstand any type of poison that attempts to weaken it. However, it's simply just a rumor." Naraku said, "But even still, it's something worth investigating. Hakudoshi, I want you to go and find the location of this crystal. Once you find it, report back to me and let me know."
"Sure, but what will you do Naraku?" Hakudoshi said, "Will you go get back that jewel shard that you lost to Sesshomaru and Kouga in the Netherworld? Do you want Kagura and I to do that as well? I don't mind, since I have been meaning to repay Kouga back for killing my horse."
"Just focus on the task that I gave you to do Hakudoshi. That is more important for you to do than getting the shard back from them." Naraku said, "Besides, I plan to pay Inuyasha's former companions a personal visit after I return from a few errands that I have been meaning to get to."
"Oh?" Hakusdoshi said with an intrigued look on his face after he stood up and headed towards the door, "Well then, I will leave it to you. I'll let you know once I find out the location of the crystal."
Watching as Hakudoshi headed to the exit of the room, Naraku waited until his incarnation was gone before thinking back to what the young miko had said to him in the Netherworld.
'From where she was on the ground, Kagome gave Naraku a death glare as she loaded up another arrow. "There's plenty more where that came from Naraku. You will pay for what you did to Inuyasha. However, instead of here in the Netherworld of where you sent Inuyasha. I will send you to Hell." Firing another arrow at the spider demon, the arrow rushed toward Naraku only to deflect against the barrier and disappear.'
'When Kagome fell into my trap, she was supposed to permanently remain in the Netherworld.' Naraku thought, 'That fall was supposed to kill her. And if it didn't, then the spell that I placed worked as a backup plan, which was supposed to show Kagome the place that she really wanted to return to. It was the perfect distraction that I used to get the jewel shard that she revealed the location to me before she fell. Combined with the dark energy of the Netherworld, the spell was supposed to be very strong, however, it was destroyed by someone who was also there with us and had an immense spiritual same person who saved Kagome from instantly dying from her fall. The only person that could be is Kikyo.'
Slamming his fist in frustration on the ground, Naraku gritted in teeth, 'Even when you're dead, you still manage to interfere with my plans Kikyo!' Memories of piercing an already wounded Kikyo with his makeshift scythe played in his mind, 'I should've expected this, but I was too focused on getting the jewel shard and setting the trap that I didn't realize that Kikyo would be there–possibly waiting for Inuyasha or I to come and retrieve the jewel shard.'
Thinking about it some more, Naraku thought, 'Kikyo could've tried to stop me from reaching the shard but she didn't. Not that Kikyo could destroy my barrier, but she could've at least tried to. No, instead she chose to disguise herself as Inuyasha and save Kagome, but why? Could it be that Kikyo honestly believes that Kagome has the power to stop me?' Naraku as smirked came over his face before he chuckled in amusement, 'Such a foolish woman. When not even she could defeat me, what makes her think that her reincarnation with less spiritual powers than her can stop me. Without Inuyasha's Tessaiga or the bond that those two shared, Kagome cannot stop me on her own. Kikyo probably decided to disguise herself as Inuyasha to save Kagome when she realized that she could not enter into Kagome's dreamworld as herself since the serpent demon used her appearance to inflict a significant amount of damage before she was killed.'
Remembering how so unlike herself Kagome was when she believed that Naraku had killed Inuyasha, Naraku smirked, 'Especially since the person that Kagome most likely wants to see the most is Inuyasha. Poor Kagome, she must really be hurting inside.' Taking out the jet black almost completed jewel that he had, 'Perhaps I should pay Inuyasha's former companions another visit sooner than expected. After all, I have a feeling this will be something that I'll deeply enjoy.'
With that thought in mind, Naraku gripped the dark jewel in the palm of his hand.
Outside the fortress, Kagura and Kohaku sat on the earthy ground that hung above the fortress. The two of them sat waiting for further orders, but Kagura couldn't help but wonder something.
'Just what had happened in the Netherworld that had caused Naraku to return not only empty-handed, but also with his body mangled like that?' Kagura thought, 'Could it have been because of Sesshomaru?'
Thinking back to the entrance of the Netherworld that she had led the InuDaiYoukai to, Kagura remembered how the two stone guards simply bowed before Sesshomaru as they granted him access to the Netherworld. Something that the guards weren't so kind to extend to herself or to Kouga when they had sought access.
'If there's anyone that can beat Naraku, it's Sesshomaru.' Kagura thought, 'Only he alone has the power and the knowledge to put an end to Naraku's reign of terror and to free me from that bastard's control.' Reflecting on her memories of the infant that she saw Naraku's other incarnation Utsuho carry, 'Once I find out where Naraku is hiding his heart, I'll tell Sesshomaru where it is.'
Too absorbed in her thoughts, Kagura failed to notice Kohaku eyeing her for a bit before looking away.
Suddenly below them, the door opened and Hakudoshi walked out. Once outside, he looked up at Kagura and Kohaku and said, "Oh? You're still here Kagura? I thought for sure that you've gone off somewhere on your own again."
Annoyed at the constant observation that Hakudoshi did over her, Kagura felt a bit violated. It was like he knew what her thoughts were. "What do you want Hakudoshi? Does Naraku want us to do something?" Kagura stood up and jumped down to where Hakudoshi was.
"As a matter of fact," Hakudoshi said, "Naraku said that he wants us to run a little errand for him. We have a lot of places that we need to go visit for Naraku."
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes so it wouldn't be noticed by Hakudoshi, Kagura breathed through her nose in annoyance, took out her feather and threw it in the air. Watching as the feather grew bigger, Kagura jumped on it and Hakudoshi followed suit.
Turning to Kohaku, Hakudoshi said, "Kohaku, you should stay here in case Naraku wants you to do something for him." With that said, Hakudoshi flew off with Kagura.
Kohaku watched the two incarnations leave in silence as he continued to sit and wait for orders.
Although the weather was beautiful and the mood was calm, Kouga and his human companions walked in silence as they walked down the path that would lead them to another village. It had been a day since they had returned from the Netherworld. As much as the group was still slightly shaken up by the events that had happened there, they were encouraged because of their win over Naraku in the Netherworld.
"That's one jewel shard in our hands rather than in Naraku's." Sango smiled, walking beside the monk and the fox demon who was sitting on the monk's shoulders, "I know it's not much compared to the many pieces that Naraku has, but it's the start of something. The next thing you know, it won't be long before we defeat Naraku and save Inuyasha from him."
"You said it!" Shippo agreed, looking at the demon slayer as he remained sitting on the monk's shoulders. "If there's one thing Sesshomaru showed us, it's that Naraku's barrier is not indestructible."
"Exactly," Kouga said, briefly looking back at his human companions before returning his eyes to the path ahead of them "All Naraku has going for him are his wicked and cowardly spells, his wits, the jewel shards, and his barrier. Now, that we have taken away the confidence of his 'indestructible barrier' all there is left is a shameless demon who knows how to cast a few spells while hiding behind the power of the shards. With Sesshomaru's sword and the power of the Goraishi, Naraku's death is only a matter of time."
"If only that day could come soon enough." Miroku said. "It's been a long time coming."
As the group talked about their desire of seeing the spider demon dead now a possible reality instead of a wishful dream, Kagome had her attention elsewhere.
As Kagome's memories of her encounter with 'Inuyasha' in the Netherworld played in her head, Kagome couldn't help but think of one thing.
'Just who was that person?' Kagome thought, 'Who was that person who pretended to be Inuyasha in order to save me? Why did they save me?'
Thinking back on the cold and calculating look that Naraku had on his face as he thought about the person's identity before he looked back at her, Kagome thought, 'This person, whoever they were, was not one of Naraku's incarnations. The look on Naraku's face was cold and emotionless, compared to the mocking look that he would give us if he seemed to have the upper hand. That leads me to believe that the person who saved me wasn't on Naraku's side and seemed to be someone who Naraku didn't expect.'
'But who could it be?' Kagome thought, 'Who would be in the Netherworld other than Kouga, Sesshomaru, and the rest, that would take the time to not only save me but also help me destroy Naraku's spell? Who could do such a thing?' Suddenly the image of the dead priestess flashed before her, causing Kagome to widen her eyes in surprise, 'Could it have been Kikyo? Could Kikyo have been the one who saved me?'
Realizing how much that made sense since the battle did take place in the Netherworld, Kagome felt her heart become heavier with regret and shame. For the possibility of it being the dead priestess was one that bothered her greatly, 'It might have been Kikyo who saved me.'
Kagome thought about her past interactions with the woman and remembered how most of them were not good. Even though Inuyasha had turned out to be a bearer demon, there was a time when Kagome actively did not like being ignored by him in favor of the dead priestess. As much as Kagome didn't like to admit it, she had been jealous of the attention that Inuyasha had given Kikyo in the past, even though she knew that those two used to be in a relationship and only broke up due to Naraku's deception and interference. 'Naraku's human heart belonged to the human Onigumo who desired and lusted after Kikyo. However, Inuyasha and Kikyo were in love with each other and were in a relationship, so Onigumo sought to destroy the love that the two had for each other.'
'Inuyasha and Kikyo never really broke up, but still had feelings for each other, but I also had grown to love Inuyasha during Kikyo's absence. So I became jealous of Kikyo in any interaction that they had together because I knew how much Inuyasha still loved Kikyo even after everything she did.' Kagome thought, reflecting on her memories, 'As I fought for Inuyasha's sole attention whenever Kikyo showed up, I hate to say it but I wasn't the best version of myself.' Kagome's heart ached as she continued submerging herself in her memories, 'That version of myself kept appearing whenever either Inuyasha and Kikyo met up or whenever Kikyo and I were alone together with no matter how hard I tried to hide it. Now, look at the result of it. It is because of the dark feelings in my heart that Inuyasha is in a vulnerable and shameful position with Naraku—who is enjoying every minute of it. It's all my fault. That's why I lost it when I thought I saw Inuyasha again in the Netherworld.'
Remembering how much she cried that on 'Inuyasha's' back yesterday, Kagome thought as she brought her hand to her heart and gripped it, 'But for the person that I was crying to be Kikyo instead Inuyasha, it doesn't matter if she had been dead. Now she knows what transpired in the world of the living. Now she knows how I allowed the dark feelings in my heart towards Inuyasha's and her's relationship to allow the person she loved to be forced into Naraku's hands.
I wished that instead of Inuyasha she chose to disguise herself as she should've appeared as herself so I wouldn't have acted the way I did.'
Feelings of bitterness, regret, and sadness washed over Kagome as she felt ashamed of her past actions in her memories.
Feeling something off behind him, Miroku paused in his steps as he looked back at Kagome. He opened his mouth to say something to her but was interrupted by the cries for help coming from a distance not too far from where his friends and him were.
"Help somebody help!" A voice called out that was immediately followed by screams of cries of help by other people, "Demon!"
Hearing this, the group quickly got into action.
Running toward the multiple screams and cries for help, Kouga looked back at his travel companions and said, "I'll go ahead to see what's going on. I'll see you guys there!" And with that, he disappeared in a whirlwind as he ran towards the terror-filled screams.
Miroku ran after Kouga as Kirara quickly transformed and Sango and Shippo quickly jumped onto her.
Looking back at the young miko, Sango called out, "Kagome, what are you doing? Hurry up and get on, those villagers need our help!"
"Huh?!" Kagome said, snapping out of the daze she was in as she looked at her friends who were ready to leave but were waiting for her. "Oh right. Sorry about that."
Kagome quickly got on to the fire demon cat, before Kirara flew towards the village.
At the village, the villagers were screaming as they all tried to run away from the giant raging demon bear. The demon bear roared loudly as it slashed its giant claws against the homes, destroying them as they broke. He roared again as he reached over to slash his claws against the humans that ran from their destroyed homes, when suddenly Kouga quickly came and kicked the demon in the face.
The demon bear let out a loud painful cry as it stumbled back and turned to give Kouga a vicious glare. The bear demon snarled at Kouga who only snarled at the demon back revealing his sharp teeth and his threatening eyes. And just before either of them could attack each other, the villagers said to Kouga, "Wait, go easy on him. That demon is the deity that is supposed to guard this village!"
"What?!" Kouga growled out, refusing to remove his eyes from the demon because he knew that the moment that he did, the demon bear would immediately attack him, "Well, he's not doing a very good job!"
"Kouga!" Miroku called out, before running next to said wolf demon, "What's going on why have you not destroyed the demon?!"
"Stop, don't destroy this demon!" One villager called out, immediately drawing the monk's attention to him.
"That demon is the protector of our village. He's usually a peaceful bear so we don't know why he's acting like this!" Another villager called out.
Just then Sango, Shippo and Kagome came in on Kirara and landed next to their other two travel companions.
Looking back at the growling bear demon, Miroku said, "Since this demon is the protector of your village, it doesn't make any sense why he would be attacking the place that he is supposed to be protecting?"
The demon bear snarled at the group as it turned its head to look for something to aid in its protection against the group's weapons.
"Look!" Sango called out, directing the group's attention to a small insect on the neck of the demon, "Up on the demon's neck there's a demonic-looking insect. Do you think that it has something to do with this guardian's strange behavior?"
"Probably so," Kouga said, coming up with a plan to handle this, "Quick Sango take Kirara and make a distraction so the guardian can focus its attention on you. This will give me enough time to destroy that bug on its neck."
"Sure," Sango said, as Kagome and Shippo immediately off Kirara. As soon as they did, Sango flew over closer to where the bear demon was and make a move that as if she was going to attack it. The bear demon roared as it focused its attention on Sango and reached up to attack her.
Suddenly, Kouga dashed forward towards the demon, jumped up, and kicked the insect to the ground. And before the demonic parasite could have a chance to react and fly away, Kouga immediately stepped on it and caused it to die.
As soon as the bug left the neck of the bear demon, the bear ceased in its move against the demon slayer and looked around confused. Then it roared in a gentle quieter tone than before and headed towards the shine near the nearby forest.
"Thank you so much!" The villagers cried out in relief that not only their village was saved but now their guardian wasn't harmed. "You and your friends have saved us!"
"It's no worry, my fellow villagers." Miroku said, "We were just passing by and wondered what was going on?"
"No, it is." The village chief said as he stood in front of the group of villagers staring at Kouga and his companions insisted, "How can we ever repay you?"
At this, there was a mischievous twinkle in Miroku's eyes before he said, "Actually, my friends and I would appreciate a night stay at one of your finest inns, with food if you don't mind."
"Yes of course!" The village chief said, "That is but a simple matter. Is there anything else you wish to have as well for your stay tonight?"
"Well since you're offering, perhaps some—" Miroku was suddenly interrupted as he felt a threatening glare that he knew was coming from the demon slayer behind him, "On second thought never mind, we'll take the food and lounging."
Besides Miroku, Kouga looked indifferent to his behavior as Shippo didn't seem surprised.
Kagome, on the other hand, seemed didn't like the scene before her as it reminded her of her life with the missing friend before the serpent demon came and made a mess of things.
Without realizing it, Kagome almost thought she was back in those times again as she saw Inuyasha standing next to Kouga. Blinking in disbelief, Kagome took a hesitant step towards the pair before Kouga turned around and the vision of Inuyasha disappeared.
"Kagome?" Kouga said, looking at the young miko that stood behind everyone and near the entrance of the village as if she was an outsider, "Is there something wrong?"
Remembering where she was, Kagome shook her head and looked away from Kouga with saddened eyes.
'It seems that no matter how hard I try, I still cannot forget about Inuyasha nor of the times I spent with him.' Kagome thought, knowing that the wolf demon was still looking at her with eyes full of concern —as if he knew what she was thinking about. 'I can't keep doing this and worrying everyone. Right now, I want to be alone so I can properly process my feelings.'
"Kagome?" She heard the wolf demon repeat again, looking back to face him briefly, Kagome said, "Sorry Kouga, I want to be by myself for a while. Do you mind telling the others that?"
"Sure." Kouga replied, "If anything happens, don't be afraid to call for me."
Kagome gave the wolf demon a weak smile as she nodded, "I will. Thanks Kouga."
Turning around to walk away out of the village and into a nearby forest, Kagome didn't notice the monk suddenly turn from the village chief and watched the young miko as she left the village alone.
Blindly following the call of her heart, Kagome walked a into the nearby forest that surrounded the village. As she walked deeper and deeper into the forest, she stopped by a nearby clearing of lucious grass that had some flowers in it.
'Huh?' Kagome thought, as she looked around the clearing that seemed strangely familiar to her, 'This place looks alot like the grassy fields near the well of Kaede's village.' As Kagome continued to look around she spotted something in the corner of her eye that caused her to immediately turn around and stare in surprise at what she found.
There standing before here was a large beautiful tree that had thick branches on it and luscious green leaves hanging from the branches.
Upon seeing this tree, Kagome felt a familiar drawn to it but didn't understand why she felt that way. As Kagome kept walking toward the tree, she realized why she felt that way. There in the middle of the tree was a strange pentagon shape that was carved in the middle of it. And the middle of that craving was a small hole as if something sharp had pierced through there–something like an arrow.
Reaching forward, Kagome touched the small hole and rubbed the wooden surface of the tree. 'Inuyasha.'
This was the tree that was nearby Kaede's village and the well. The tree of Inuyasha's forest.
Looking up as Kagome took a better look at the tree, she noticed that its branches were the same branches that Inuyasha would be resting against as he waited for her to return from her home back in her time.
Suddenly, right before her eyes, a figure with silver hair and red clothing appeared resting as he sat against the tree branches of the tree. Shocked at the figure before her, Kagome hesitantly took a step back so she get a better view of the InuHanyou who sat above her.
Keeping his eyes closed, Inuyasha's ears moved as if alerted of someone and opened his eyes. There he stared down and locked eyes with Kagome's. Calm amber-golden eyes met surprised brown ones.
Before Kagome could say anything, another voice spoke for her.
"Hello, I'm back. Is anybody there?" Kagome immediately looked towards the sound of her own voice coming from a different direction. It was coming from the well.
'When did that get there?' Kagome thought as she stared at the grassy-covered wooden well in shock. 'Is that my voice coming from inside the well?'
Before Kagome could walk towards the well to investigate what was going on, she suddenly felt a cool breeze accompanied by the familiar dash of red quickly move past her. 'Huh?'
Kagome watched as Inuyasha stopped before the well and bent down inside it as if he was trying to get something. Suddenly the top part of his body slowly came back into view as he appeared to be pulling someone out of the well. Kagome saw the familiar green and white color of her uniform before her own face came into view.
"Thanks, Inuyasha, I was having a hard time getting this stuff up with me," Kagome heard her doppelganger say, watching Inuyasha continue pulling said doppelganger out of the well.
"It's about time you got here, Kagome." Inuyasha said, making sure that Kagome's doppelganger was safely out of the well and helped her stand on the grass, "You know, I was getting tired of waiting for you to come back. I almost went in to grab you myself if it wasn't for Miroku and Sango buttin' in, telling me to give you time."
"Well, it's a good thing that you listened to them or else I would've been really angry with you Inuyasha." Kagome's doppelganger said in a stern tone, causing the InuHanyou to flinch at her tone. "Now be a good boy and help me with this bag will you?"
'What is this?' Kagome thought as she watched Inuyasha pull her doppelganger's heavy-looking yellow bag out of the well, 'I've seen this before. No, I have experienced this before many times…'
'Kagome!" The loud and familiar voice of the fox demon called out from behind her. Kagome looked in said direction as she was greeted with the sight of not only the fox demon walking towards her but also the monk and the demon slayer. "Kagome, hurray you're back!"
"We knew that you would be back in three days just like you had said." Miroku said, walking together with the demon slayer as they walked past Kagome who stood stunned at their appearance, "It's just that Inuyasha was a bit impatient with the lack of your presence."
"Yeah," Sango said with a smile of amusement towards the InuHanyou, "And I gotta say, I wasn't surprised considering his temperament."
"Would you two shut your mouth!" Inuyasha called out in annoyance, "You're acting like I was desperate or something."
"But aren't you always desperate for Kagome's attention, Inuyasha?" Shippo said, much to the annoyance of the InuHanyou as he feigned child-like innocence.
"Shut it!" Inuyasha growled as he knocked Shippo on the head causing the little fox demon to cry out loud.
"Kagome, Inuyasha hit me!" Shippo cried out, as he tried crandling the fresh new bump on his head.
"Now, Inuyasha," Kagome's doppleganger chided, "Don't be mean."
"Keh, whatever." Inuyasha huffed, looking away. "The little runt had it coming."
Bending down to pick up the heavy yellow bag that Kagome's doppelganger had trouble carrying out of the well, Inuyasha said, "Alright, let's hurry up and get going. We wasted enough time already as it is."
Kagome continued to stand and watched as the InuHanyou and her friends kept going in their banter as if she wasn't there. Suddenly, as her doppleganger and her friends continued in the conversation they turned and walked in a different direction from where they originally came. Seeing this, Kagome began to walk after them, but for some strange reason no matter how much she walked, she could never reach them for they were too fast.
"Wait!" Kagome called out to them, but it was like they didn't hear her. "Wait! Come back!"
Suddenly, as soon as her doppleganger and her friends appeared they disappeared as they walked into the forest. Not wanting to be left behind, Kagome quickly ran in after them, but couldn't find them.
Her heart beating anxiously, Kagome desperately looked around for the sight of her doppleganger and her friends but they were nowhere to be found. It was almost as if the group were nothing but a fleeting memory.
'No, it can't be.' Kagome thought, shaking her head in disbelief as she continued to look around for her friends and her doppleganger, 'It can't be!'
But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find anybody just an empty forest.
"Here you are once again trapped in another moment of your heart." A familiar voice said, causing a cold chill to run through Kagome's body. Knowing who that was, Kagome immediately turned towards the direction of that voice and saw Kikyo stand at the tree that she herself had been there only moments ago. "How long will you continue to be like this Kagome?"
"Kikyo, it's you…" Kagome said stunned at the sight of the once dead priestess standing beside the tree of Inuyasha, "What do you mean by that? Does that mean that you are the one who saved me from the Netherworld?" Watching as the once dead priestess nodded her head, "But why? And why did you decide to disguise yourself as Inuyasha to do so?"
"Ever since I died from the hands of Naraku after he hunted me down, I had been in the Netherworld protecting the shard of the sacred jewel that made its way there." Kikyo said, "I stood protecting it because I knew that one day that I would see you all again who would come to the Netherworld in search for it. I also knew that if you all were coming then that meant Naraku would be coming as well. I had made plans on what I do when I see him there, and I was waiting for a moment when his barrier would be down for an opportunity to strike him. However, that all changed once I saw you fall from the spiritual barrier that your monk friend had put up."
Hearing that, Kagome memories of her falling that day flashed before her eyes.
"Even though I was able to break your fall with my spiritual powers, By the time, I rushed forwards to save you, it was too late. You were already engulfed in the darkness of Naraku's spell. When I realized the type of spell that you were under, I tried to enter it to save you, but your spirit vehemently rejected me. No matter what I did you kept on rejecting me as if I had done some type of severe wrongness to you in the past." Kikyo said, as she left the tree, walked towards reincarnation and stood before in front of her. "I wasn't sure what I had done. So I searched your heart and became the person who you deeply wanted to see. And so by using Inuyasha's face, I was able to save you from Naraku's plot to keep you in the Netherworld. But the tears you shed that day even though I tried to make you feel better, not fully understanding what happened, were too much."
At this, Kagome remembered how much she cried on 'Inuyasha's' back in the Netherworld yesterday. 'Wow, I guess it was a lot. It's just that I was just so heartbroken and I really thought it was him. It really was Kikyou who saved.'
"And it was only after I searched your spirit and heard your words, that I fully understood what you had done to Inuyasha that had caused you to behave like that. Kagome you are supposed to be my reincarnation, but you have behaved in a way that was so unlike a priestess." Kikyo said, watching as her reincarnation nodded at her words. "Now as much as it pains me to say it, Kagome due to your behavior and your actions. I don't see you as no longer fit to continue your search for the sacred jewel. I am hereby stripping you of all your spiritual powers to aid in my return back into the land of the living."
At this, Kagome jumped back in horror, "What? You're stripping me of all my spiritual powers? Then what will happen to me?"
Horrified brown eyes locked eyes with cold judgemental brown eyes, as Kikyo said, "I don't know and I don't care to know."
With that, Kikyo stretched her hand towards Kagome and in that moment Kagome screamed as she immediately felt a wave of intense pain come over her body.
And before Kikyo could do anything else, Miroku came rushing in from the forest and threw sutras at Kikyou saying, "Kagome! Begone evil spirit!" To Kagome's surprise, Kikyou hissed as she was destroyed by spiritual fire and vanished.
Shocked at what had just happened, Kagome just fell to her knees on the ground as she stared at the burned spot at the ground where Kikyo used to be.
"Kagome!" Miroku said, immediately getting down on his knees to check on the young miko, "Thank goodness that I decided to check on you when I noticed that you had been gone for a while. I fear if I hadn't, who knows what would've happened to you."
At this, the memory of 'Kikyo's cold judgmental brown eyes flashed before her eyes, causing Kagome to shiver in shock at the memory.
Noticing the young miko's shivering in fear, Miroku asked, "Kagome are you alright?"
Tears gathering up in her eyes, Kagome began to cry as she used her hands to cover her face.
Understanding the pain the young miko was going through, "Kagome, that wasn't Kikyo. That was an evil spirit that was pretending to be Kikyo. The real Kikyou would never do something like that to you."
Suddenly remembering the understanding and calm eyes of Kikyo when she was disguised as Inuyasha, Kagome shook her head in disbelief at herself.
That was right! How could she have forgotten? The Kikyo in the Netherworld was understanding, did not judge Kagome, did everything she could to save her, and even tried to reassure Kagome after she asked the young miko to shoot the arrow.
Practically sobbing now, Kagome shook her head at how she could've allowed herself to fall for the trick of that evil sprirt who pretended to be Kikyo. Trying to wipe the tears from her face, Kagome heard Miroku ask, "Kagome, could I see that sacred jewel shard that we got from the Netherworld? There's something that I need to check."
Trying to calm herself down, Kagome nodded her head and wiped her tears. Reaching in the right pocket of her skirt, Kagome took it out and quickly handed the jewel to him.
Inspecting the darkish pink shard, Miroku said, "Just as I thought, the shard is still corrupted."
"Yeah," Kagome admitted, "I didn't want to tell you guys this but ever since we came back from the Netherworld, I have been unable to purify the shard. I have tried everything in my power, but I have been unable to do it. That's why I decided to keep it separated it from the other jewel shards that we have. I didn't want them also to get corrupted as well."
"That was a good idea that you came up with Kagome." Miroku said, "Since you're not in a good state and are unable to temporarily to fully use your purification powers, we can't risk any more of the shards getting corrupted." Kagome nodded her head in agreement, "However, we can't be too sure. Perhaps it's fruitless and the other shards have already been corrupted. Kagome, give me the other jewel shards so I can see if they are still pure."
At this, Kagome almost reached her hand toward her necklace but stopped as she noticed something.
Why was the jewel shard in Miroku's hand turning black?
Turning her entire focus on the shard in Miroku's hands, Kagome remembered how only moments ago when she gave the monk the shard it had been a mixture of black and pink, but now it was turning completely black.
Suddenly, a chill ran Kagome's body as she felt the faint calling of the sacred jewel. And it wasn't the ones that she was already she carrying in her pocket, nor was it the one that she had just given to Miroku earlier. It was much bigger–much bigger as if it was already almost whole. And the more that Kagome focused on it, the more she realized that it certainly was this whole sacred jewel that she was sensing was being compressed in a barrier. A barrier meant to suppress and block her from sensing it. Another cold shiver ran through Kagome's body as she realized the only person who carried such a jewel.
Kagome looked up and saw Naraku's wicked crimson eyes on Miroku's face, looking down and saying.
"It seems that the barrier wasn't strong enough. Such a pity." Naraku said as Miroku, 'But that doesn't mean that im going to give up now. Especially when I know now where you have hidden the jewel shards." Naraku reach over as to grab Kagome's hand which was still in the position of bringing out the shard in around her neck.
Terrified, Kagome let out a blood-curdling scream and woke up.
Instantly, Kouga and the others woke up as well. And looked at Kagome as she continued to let out a blood curling scream as if she was fighting with someone in her dream.
"Kagome, wake up!" Kouga yelled, as he immediately came to her side and shook the young miko, "It's just a dream. Wake up!"
Kouga was quickly joined by Sango, Miroku, and Shippo who all tried waking the young miko up.
Suddenly, Kagome's eyes snapped open and she looked around when as if she didn't know where she was.
"Kagome, what's wrong? What happened in your dream for you to scream like this?" Sango said as she tried speaking to Kagome who seemed as if she was still in a dream-like daze. "Kagome? Kagome answer me, are you okay?"
"Kagome," Miroku said, causing the young miko's head to snap towards him as soon as he spoke, "As you ok–"
However, before Miroku could say anything else, Kagome let out a bone-chilling scream and pushed herself away from her friend's hold on her. Reaching around beside her, Kagome found her backpack, pulled out anything hard and heavy that she could reach in her bag and threw them at Miroku who only screamed out in pain at this. Kagome even went as far as to throw the heavy textbooks in her bag as soon as she felt them in her reach.
Shocked at what they were seeing, Kouga and Sango lunged toward Kagome and tried to stop her.
Sango took away Kagome's bag from the young miko's reach, while Kouga tried holding Kagome's arms to keep her away from finding anything else to throw at the monk. However, as Kouga tried to hold Kagome's arms back, Kagome suddenly stopped struggling and used her hands to grab hold of Kouga's arms as he held her arms.
Kagome gave Kouga a deadly glare as a flash of bright blue light came from her hands and burnt Kouga.
Kouga yelled out in pain as he released Kagome's hands to stop what she was doing to him, but the pain didn't stop and continued to burn his arms. Kouga howled in pain as a bright blue flame engulfed him and he fell to his knees trying to stop it.
Horrified at the scene before them, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara just stared burning wolf demon and the young miko in shock.
"There's plenty more where that's coming from Naraku," Kagome said in a dark tone that her friends never heard her use before.
"What? Naraku?" Sango repeated, watching as Kagome's eyes searched the ground as if she was looking for something. Widening her eyes in surprise, Sango realize what Kagome was trying to do but before Sango could stop her, Kagome found her bow and arrows and quickly picked them up.
"Kagome, NO!" Miroku yelled, watching in horror as the young miko pointed an arrow at him while glaring at him with empty brown eyes full of hatred. Terror-stricken, Miroku remained still as he kept his eyes on Kagome.
However, Sango got in front of Miroku, "Kagome stop it right now, Miroku is not Naraku. Somehow you are being controlled by Naraku right now, so you need to snap out of it."
Shippo and Kirara tried to move to stop her, but Kagome caught on to what the two small demons were doing and said, "Move and I'll kill you all where you stand." Shocking everyone as they looked at her in horror.
Meanwhile, in the dark forest far away from where the group was, Naraku was on the ground kneeling in front of glowing blue water and was bringing his hand out of it. As he brought his hand out, in the palm of his hand was the jet black shard of the jewel. The one that he lost in the Netherworld to his enemies.
Holding the shard in his hand, Naraku stood up and stared down upon the reflection of the water with cold crimson eyes.
"Kagome, no please!" Naraku heard the demon slayer plead on the reflection of the water as the wolf demon was on the ground screaming in pain over the burning spiritual fire that was inflicting pain upon his body.
Naraku saw how Kagome's finger was about to release her hold on the arrow as her comapanions kept screaming at her. With a smirk, Naraku decided to help Kagome release her string. Putting the shard into the almost completed jewel, Naraku reaches to move his other free hand over the water to release Kagome's arrow when he sees a flash of Inuyasha's face.
Suddenly, a memory of Inuyasha standing in front of his vulnerable friends as if he was protecting them flashed before Naraku's eyes. There, the image of Inuyasha pointing his sword at Naraku appeared to be so fresh and real, it felt like he was on the battlefield actually facing Inuyasha.
Then the memory of his last conversation with Inuyasha came to mind.
"Today is the day before I finally execute my plan. You should be glad that you're not on the receiving end this time."
"What are you going to do to them Naraku?" Inuyasha said, intensitfying his glare towards the spider demon as he realized who will be on the receiving end of his plans this time. This intrigued Naraku.
"Oh?" Naraku chuckled, "You still care?"
"Damn you." Inuyasha almost growled.
Narrowing his eyes in remembrance of the memory, Naraku remained still over the water.
The pleading voices and screams of the InuHanyou's former companions echoed about the dark forest in a twisted way.
With merciless eyes, Naraku glanced down upon the reflection and suddenly saw Inuyasha glaring at him with an intense glare full of hatred.
Knowing that the sight was just an illusion, Naraku closed his eyes and then opened them again now seeing only the reflection of the Inuyasha's companions in the water.
'It seems that I wouldn't feel good if I killed you all like this. Unable to fight back, unable to attempt to save yourself, unable to even bring yourself to hurt your friend that wants to kill you, while she is unable to save herself. It doesn't seem fair now does it?' Naraku smirks, 'Perhaps, I prefer fighting you all face to face and on better terms.'
Glancing down at the jewel shard in his hand, Naraku looked back at the reflection and with a wave of his hand, he snapped Kagome out of her daze. With eyes of indifference, Naraku stared at the scene for another moment, before waving his hand once again and changing the reflection of the scene to a reflection of himself. Gripping the sacred jewel in his hand, Naraku turned around and walked away from the body of glowing water.
Glancing back at the now distant body of glowing water, Naraku smirked, 'Until next time.' And walked out of the dark forest.
Meanwhile, far away from the dark forest, stood Kagome as she suddenly snapped out of her hysterical daze and came to herself.
'Huh?' Kagome thought as she blinked a couple of times in realization before taking down her bow and arrow. 'What's going on?'
Looking down at her bow and her arrow in her hands, Kagome looked at her group of friends that she was across from and took notice of the look on their faces. 'Why was I pointing my arrow at my friends? And why do they have those fearful expressions on their faces? That can't be aimed at me can it?'
Watching as the young miko lowered her weapon aa she looked at her with a concerned and fearful look on her face, Sango hesitantly asked, "Kagome, is that you?"
Not sure what to make of that question, Kagome nodded, "Yeah Sango, it's me. I'm not sure who else would be. Are you guys ok?"
Feeling relieved that their friend had returned to normal, Sango and Miroku nodded as Shippo ran towards the young miko and cried out, "Kagome!"
Catching the fox demon in her arms after she set down her weapons, Kagome looked at him briefly before she finally was able to process and hear the loud groaning that was not too far from her.
Turning her head towards the source, Kagome gasped in shock as she saw the wolf demon on the ground groaning loudly in pain from the bright blue spiritual fire that had engulfed his body.
"Kag…gome…" Kouga hissed out, as he continued to burn in pain.
"Kouga!" Kagome yelled, as she ran towards the wolf demon and looked around for something to extinguish the fire with. "Hold on, I'm coming. Quick roll around on the ground to see if that will anything. I'll try to see if I have some water bottles in my bag!"
Before Kagome could move away from Kouga, the wolf demon called out to her.
"Wait Ka..Kagome… th–th..is fire came…. from you." Kouga grunted out in pain, "...Only you…can ….remove this…fire from me…."
"What? This fire came from me?!" Kagome said appalled at the wolf demon's statement, "How did that even possible? I don't know how to do that and I don't even unleash that power upon you!"
"Kagome, Kouga is telling the truth!" Miroku called out to the young miko, still keeping a cautious eye on her in case she were go back into being controlled by the spider demon, "You did unleash that power upon him and the only way you can get rid of it is if you touch it with your hands and imagine going away!"
Upon hearing the monk's voice, Kagome felt a cold chill run through her body but didn't know why.
Getting onto her knees, Kagome stretched her hand forward into the fire and was surprised that it wasn't burning her. However, she quickly got over this as she stared at the burning fire and imagined it gone.
Then, the bright blue fire slowly vanished from Kouga.
Once the fire was gone, Kouga looked over his body to see over the damage. The burns on his body thankfully were not severe, but that didn't mean that the flame didn't cause him mental anguish.
Wanting to see if the burns were really not severe, Kagome reached over to grab Kouga's arm. However, as soon as she tried to touch Kouga's arm, the wolf demon moved away from her reach.
'Huh?' Kagome thought in surprise, as she watched the wolf demon move away from her touch. Thinking that she was just seeing things, Kagome reached out to Kouga again, but this time Kouga allowed her to touch him.
"Sorry Kagome." Kouga said, watching as the young miko held his arm, "I was just nervous about it happening again."
Shaking her head at this as if to reassure the wolf demon, Kagome briefly examined Kouga's burns before saying, "It's ok Kouga. I understand. I think I have something for this in my back bag."
Looking away from the wolf demon, Kagome finally turned around and noticed how the stuff from her bag was all over the ground.
"Hey," Kagome said, shocked at the sight of her scattered stuff everywhere. "Isn't this my stuff? What happened here?!"
Before anybody could give her an answer, Kagome froze as she suddenly remembered her dream.
Kagome remembered everything from going to the tree near Kaede's village, Inuyasha, her doppelganger, Kikyo, Miroku, and Naraku. The last thing Kagome remembered was Naraku reaching for her neck to take away the other jewel shards necklace that was around her neck.
'The Shards!' Kagome finally realized as she immediately took out her necklace and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the shards. However, then she remembered the other shard that she had given Naraku in the dream while she was, at the time, under the impression he was Miroku. 'Oh no!'
Reaching into the right pocket of her skirt, Kagome was surprised to find it empty. She checked the left pocket and got the same result.
Realizing that Naraku had entered her dream and taken the jewel shard from her, Kagome said, "It's gone." Attracting the attention of her group mates back to her, "The jewel shard that we got from the Netherworld is gone."
Author's note:
While writing last chapter, I realized that you guys are probably wondering, why was Naraku trying to kill Kagome in the last chapter when he needs her powers to locate the shards?
Honestly, that's something that I noticed in the original series. There were times when Naraku would be so close to killing Kagome-like sending Kohaku to do it and sending the Band of seven after Inuyasha's group-that I wondered why he would do that when only Kikyo and Kagome are the only ones who could locate the shards of the jewel. Like how was he planning on finding the shards once he killed them?
I think that it was implied that if it got to that point since Naraku already has most of the jewel shards, he could use some spell to help him find the rest of the shards, but maybe because of plot or something else, the creator of Inuyasha didn't want to do that. So I'm just gonna follow her decision on that to avoid causing a plot hole in this story until I reach a chapter where I might need to change my mind on that. I don't know, we'll see.
Another note: Also, Naraku was both dream Miroku and Kikyo in this chapter. However, the scene where Kagome saw her doppelganger and her friends together was a memory that she didn't realize that she cherished in her heart. Naraku used it against her for the sake of causing her to corrupt the jewel even more.
Also, Naraku doesn't know that Kagome is from the future. He just used the memories of her heart against her to accomplish his goal in this chapter and the last chapter.
kayer713: I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. In the anime, Sesshomaru came and saved Inuyasha's group from Naraku during their time in the Netherworld, so I wanted that to be the same in the story. Also, I honestly think in the anime, it was around that time that it became clear that Sesshomaru's view towards Inuyasha changed and he now wanted to protect Inuyasha whenever he felt like Inuyasha was in serious trouble or was in way over his head. This was shown during the band of seven arc when Sesshomaru saved Inuyasha's companions a few times when he really didn't have to. He claimed it was because he thought they had information on where Naraku was, but in reality, I think he didn't want Inuyasha to become distraught over the death of his friends. Since Sesshomaru probably saw them as a good influence on his younger brother and he knows how weak Inuyasha is. For that reason, Sesshomaru is one of the characters that I find fun writing. So I was also excited with you when Sesshomaru appeared in the last chapter.
tsuky: I knew you would enjoy that. I did too because Naraku was becoming too arrogant. XD
hl3xm3123: I feel so honored to know that my story was the reason you signed up for . Thank you. I'm really glad you are enjoying this story. And yes, that moment with Naraku was one of my favorite moments.
Kagome: I will do my best to finish this story.
Sesshomaru sama: I will do my best to finish this story.
Thanks again for your all support for this story. You guys are great!
Reviews are always appreciated :-)
See you guys next chapter!