Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!!
Kagome woke up in an unfamiliar room. 'Where am I?' She thought to herself, sitting up. Kagome thought carefully, remembering that she had walked into the Maja city, felt strange, and then fell. 'I must have fainted.' She realized. 'Inuyasha probably is thinking what a weak slave I am, fainting in the middle of the street like that. And I wasn't even that hurt either.' She looked at her arms carefully and moved her muscles slowly, glad to see that she was correct. She could feel some bruises that had formed where a Maja got lucky and hit her, but nothing life threatening.
She looked around the dimly lit room, a bit surprised to see Inuyasha lying on the floor next to her bed. Right beyond him was the door. 'I don't want to wake him…so I'll just step over him and look outside. Maybe Yanto is out there.' She thought after a moment. 'I wonder…did Inuyasha stay here to protect me while I slept or because we were forced to be in a place where the Majas could keep an eye on us?' She shrugged and proceeded to climb out of her bed. She got one leg past Inuyasha and started to leap the rest of the way across…but just as she jumped, her other foot got entangled in the covers and she stumbled, falling forward.
Her hands landed on either side of Inuyasha's face, as she struggled not to land on top of him. 'This isn't working right.' She thought to herself, pulling at the foot entangled in the covers. It only made her more unbalanced. 'I don't want to wake him up…how do I keep getting in these messes?' She sighed and blushed a bit when she realized how close she was to Inuyasha at this moment. Her face was only a foot away from his own…'If he wakes up, he is going to get the wrong idea.' Kagome sighed again. As though that was a signal for Inuyasha, his eyes snapped open and he looked at her, instantly becoming wide awake.
"H-he-hey!" He stuttered, sitting up a bit so that their faces were within inches of each other. Kagome noticed that his golden eyes were a little bit wider than normal, probably from surprise. 'He is so close…' Kagome couldn't help think to her self. Her heart pounded in her chest and she struggled to speak calmly.
"Inuyasha, could you help me? I'm stuck." 'See, that wasn't so hard.' She told herself.
"What?" He blinked and looked at her foot that was still trapped inside the covers.
"I fell when I tried to get out of bed." She explained after a moment. "If you hadn't of decided to get so close to the bed, then none of this would have happened."
"Keh." He snapped and quickly freed her foot.
"Thanks." Kagome stood up and tried to hide the faint blush still on her face. "Hey, how long was I out?" She quickly asked, trying to make up for her embarrassment.
"Only a few hours."
"Good." Kagome replied. "Where's Yanto?" Inuyasha looked at her suspiciously.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because he is the only Maja I don't think will kill me." She told him.
"That tree-boy isn't anything to think about." Inuyasha muttered.
"I didn't say I was thinking about him." Kagome said evenly. "Why were you by my bed anyway?" She asked, switching topics once again.
"Um…well I wanted to make sure you weren't attacked again." He said grumpily.
"Did you stay there the entire time?" Kagome felt herself brighten.
"Well...I-uh…" He looked embarrassed and backed off towards the door, like he was going to run out. "It's none of your business." He said finally. Kagome saw the door behind him crack open, and then saw it swing widely as a person entered the room. The door hit Inuyasha firmly in the face.
"Lady Kagome!" Yanto cried, dashing to her. "Oh, Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I didn't see you by the door." He said, sounding very sincere. "I must thank you for watching over this lovely human while I took care of my business."
"Yanto." Kagome said after a moment, realizing instantly who he was. He turned to her, his blue eyes filled with worry.
"Kagome, I must apologize." He said and bowed low to her. "I promised you that you'd get to my mansion safely, but you were injured along the way. I take full responsibility for whatever happened."
"Hey, she's my slave and I'm the one that was suppose to protect her." Inuyasha growled and stepped forward, one hand rubbing the small bruise on his head.
"Of course." Yanto bowed to him as well, then looked at her once again. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine." Kagome reassured him. "I wasn't too hurt by the crowd. I must have had a weak spell from the poison I had earlier, so I fainted. It's really embarrassing." She said, smiling. "It's not your fault." The two of them looked at her strangely, and for some reason she had the feeling they didn't quite believe her, even though she was telling them the truth.
"Do you remember what happened right before you fainted?" Yanto asked her.
"I just remember the crowd…and the feeling that the Wisdom was in the temple." Kagome told him after a moment.
"Hmm, you know about the Shikon then?"
"That's the reason we came here." Kagome admitted. 'Would this be a good time to ask for the Shikon?' She wondered, but Yanto's expression turned strangely sad and she decided against it.
"Bad things only happen while around the Shikon." Yanto said softly, his eyes growing dim.
"Will you stop this sad crap?" Inuyasha demanded. "Kagome's all right now, and that's all that matters."
"Inuyasha…" Kagome said, smiling, for some reason pleased that he cared that she was okay.
"What?" He asked, then backed away. "I mean…I need you to see the Shikon shards. How can you if you're hurt?" Kagome frowned and turned away so he wouldn't see her unhappiness. 'He cares for me or he cares for the shard? Which is more important to him?' She thought bitterly. 'I don't want to ask though. What if he says the Shikon?' Feelings twisted inside of her.
"Very interesting." Yanto said thoughtfully, breaking her from her thoughts. "Kagome, I want to talk more about the reason's why you came here, but you need your rest."
"I can tell you just fine why we're here." Inuyasha growled. "You don't need Kagome."
"I have a feeling though that you'll tell me about it in such a way that I will be forced to imprison you." Yanto said lightly.
"What!" Inuyasha cried. "Is that an insult, tree-boy?"
"Nay. It's just an observation." He bowed to Kagome. "I hope to speak to you more, lovely human, but I must explain to the servants about your situation, otherwise I fear that they will come in here with knifes and try to slit your throat."
"I'll protect her from that." Inuyasha told him.
"So, you'll be staying here with Kagome then?" Yanto asked, smiling as he started to leave, pausing beside Inuyasha to whisper something, but it was too low for her to hear properly.
"Hey-what…" Inuyasha stuttered, reacting both confused and embarrassed by whatever Yanto had said.
"Kagome, there is a bath in the other room, along with a change of clothes." Yanto turned to her, smiling brightly. "Be sure to rest, for we must talk later about the Shikon." Kagome nodded, reminding herself mentally to ask Inuyasha what had been said. "Shall we dine together this evening?"
"Okay." Kagome nodded.
"That's great. I'll count the hours till we see each other again." The Maja quickly scooped up her hand, placed a light kiss on it, and then left the room. Inuyasha didn't even have time to react.
"What the hell is his problem?" Inuyasha cried. "'I'll count the hours'--what was that all about!?"
"It's called politeness." Kagome sniffed, but smiled. "Are you jealous, Inuyasha?"
"Wh-what!!!?" He cried. "Of course not!" He crossed his arms and his eyes suddenly found the wall off to the side very interesting.
"Well, you didn't have to be so rude about it." She muttered and stomped towards the door Yanto had pointed to.
"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked.
"I'm taking a bath." She said firmly. "And don't you dare think of peeping on me!"
"What kind of person do you think I am!?" He demanded. "I'm no Miroku!"
"Just stay there."
"Keh."
Kagome opened the door to the bathroom and paused. That reminded her that she had no idea where Miroku and Sango were. 'They may have given up on waiting for us and could be on their way here.' She thought. 'I hope the Maja's don't give them as much trouble as they did for us.'
Inuyasha sighed as the door slammed shut and thought to what that tree told him just before he left. "Don't wait too long to tell her of your feelings."
'Why the hell did that tree guy have to go and say something like that? What is it suppose to mean? Its almost as weird as the old hanyou telling me that I'd never be able to protect Kagome.' Inuyasha thought to himself. 'Feelings? The hanyou told me that I liked Kagome. Maybe I like her--as a Shikon detector and a slave--but nothing more! I only L-I-K-E her…right?' Then why did he feel as though he was lying to himself?
"Do you only think of me as a slave?" Kagome had asked this, and for some reason, the answer he was so sure of didn't seem so sure any more.
'I have to only think of her as a slave.' He thought. 'What else would I think of her as?' But even that thought sounded hollow in his head. 'Now that I found out she can see the shards, I need her to help me find them. And I promised that I'd help her get revenge against that Naraku guy, so I'm stuck with her.' He blinked. 'Why the hell am I thinking of her anyway!?'
A loud knock on the door startled him from his thoughts. Careful to stay on guard, he approached the door cautiously and opened it up, half-expecting to either see that annoying Yanto 'who I am not jealous of,' or an entire gang of Maja's here to take Kagome's life. Instead, there was only a single, petite Maja, eyes tightly shut, with one hand still knocking on the door--which was no longer there.
"Why are you hitting me on the head!?" Inuyasha demanded as he grabbed her arm, careful not to scratch her with his claws.
"Hmm?" The girl looked up at him, tossing her green hair back behind her shoulder, her eyes brightening. "Wow! A real hanyou! I have never seen one before! Well, then again, I haven't seen much before, but people were always telling stories about how awful humans were and you are half-human right? But you don't look awful. They say that humans brought the dark times, but I wasn't born then, so Yanto says its hard for me to be prejudice, so I guess maybe that why I find you so interesting."
"Um…what?" Inuyasha just stood there a bit dazed by the girl's ramblings.
"I am Konki. Who are you?" The girl bowed to him lowly.
"Why should I tell--"
"Wait, don't answer that. You're Inuyasha, right? And the full human is Kagome? He says that Kagome is a sweet girl and you're a bit brash, but also kind in your own ways, just as long as you look past the words. He also says that you're in lo--whoops, I'm not suppose to say anything, because you're suppose to figure it out on your own, but he's behind you one-hundred percent and--" 'Does this girl ever breath?' Inuyasha wondered. '…will help you out if you can. Oh, I just love your ears! Can I touch them? See, my ears are all branch like and stick out to the sides, but yours are on your head and are so white and cute looking--"
"NO and shut up!!" Inuyasha finally yelled. The girl blinked in surprise, then sighed.
"Was I talking too much? The other Maja's say I talk too much when I get excited about something, and I have been feeling that way ever since I got my sight back last week and now I get to see a true human crossbreed! We Maja's don't breed with other species. Only with other Maja's, even though I think it is wonderful for that diversity, since then you get all kinds of uniqueness, like yourself."
"Whatever." Inuyasha muttered to the tree-girl. "Hey," a sudden thought hit him. "You wouldn't by chance be Yanto's mate or betrothed or that soul bound stuff he was talking about, would you?" He couldn't help but sound hopeful. If Yanto already had someone, then he couldn't take away Kagome--'Wait, what am I thinking?' He snapped to himself.
Her strange eyes lost a bit of their momentary luster. "Nay, he is not." She said quietly. "Nor will he ever be. Not that it really matters are anything." She laughed. "I mean, he thinks of me as a sister and I think someone else has already captured his heart."
"Who?" Demanded Inuyasha. 'It's not Kagome--it can't be Kagome!'
"Who? Oh, its--" The girl placed one hand over her mouth. "I'm not suppose to say."
"Why not!?" Inuyasha screeched. 'Don't be Kagome, just don't let it be Kagome.'
"Because he tries to keep it a secret even though it is pretty obvious." The girl informed him. 'Damn, that guy is so sappy and sweet around Kagome! That's pretty obvious!' He thought, for some reason a trickle of fear latching on to him.
"Tell me who it is right now--" He growled, but the girl suddenly pushed passed him and ran into the room. "Hey, wait!"
"You must be Kagome!!!" She cried. Kagome, who was dressed in strange, green cloths similar to what the girl had on, simply stood still, not really knowing how to react. "Wow! You both have such pale skin!" The girl circled Kagome, staring in awe. "And you're hair is such a pretty midnight color! His is white!" She sighed in bliss.
"Inuyasha, who is this?" Mouthed Kagome as the girl continued to talk. He shrugged, though was seething to know that Yanto was telling others how beautiful Kagome was. 'Sure, she is pretty, but--hey no! Stop thinking! I'm not allowed to think!' He told himself. "Who are you?" Kagome asked. "I'm guessing you don't hate me too much." The girl paused and bowed to Kagome.
"Sorry, sorry! I am Konki. I'm so glad to meet you! No, I don't hate you at all! I think everyone else does, except for Yanto of course, and Flewna--well, she doesn't count, but not me! I was born after the evil man had done his damage, so never got an underlying hatred that got spurred on by the Wisdom." The girl said, her words sounding as though someone had told them to her over and over. "Other Maja's try to make me see their ways, but, it was hard when I couldn't see the damage and have been around Yanto enough to learn his point of view over all the matters, which is quite interesting since other Maja's believe he should be the most angry since the second attack was directed only to those who worked with the Shikon."
"Couldn't see?" Kagome asked curiously. The girl's eyes widened. Inuyasha hadn't been paying too much attention before, but noticed the Maja's eyes were unnaturally pale in color. He sensed a faint, ominous presence from somewhere, but it was quickly replace by the girl's unnerving energy.
"Yes! Just last week, I tripped near the plateau and when I woke up, I could see! Its all thanks to the bump I got in my head! That's good for my tree too, since while I couldn't see, it wasn't able to get as many leaves to reach the sun for some reason. Also, I can help Yanto more than I could before, especially in the temple." The girl said cheerfully. "Don't you both like Yanto? He's so hard working and is always doing what is right! He claims it is because of his duty, but I know he is simply a wonderful Maja." The girl sighed. 'I hate his guts.' Inuyasha thought angrily.
"Yes, he is a caring Maja." Kagome told her.
"What!?" Inuyasha cried. Kagome looked at him curiously. "I mean--nothing. What about me?"
"Your asking me if I think you're caring, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked him pointedly.
"Oh, don't be so hard on him, Lady Kagome! I'm sure that inside he is the most sweetest and caring hanyou in the world." The girl piped in. 'She's sticking up for me?' Inuyasha thought to himself, but decided not to question.
"See, even she can tell that about me." Inuyasha smirked. "So, why don't you admit it?" He wasn't sure about being called 'sweet' and 'caring', but if that put him higher that Yanto, he could stand it for awhile.
"Maybe you should first answer a question." Kagome said softly. "Do you think of me as only a slave and Shikon detector?" 'Not that again!' He thought to himself. 'And she added to it too!'
"Keh." He muttered.
"Oh, this is too sweet to watch! I hope that when I get soul bound to someone, we'll be able to have friendly squabbles just like this!" The Maja sighed in happiness.
"WHAT!" They both yelled.
"First off, we aren't soul bound!" Kagome said firmly.
"And this is no friendly squabble, brat!" Inuyasha cried, 'Damn, I'm blushing again!'
"Oh, that is what Yanto told me." The girl said thoughtfully. "Sorry, I was getting ahead of myself." She said sincerely. "I hope you will forgive me--but actually, I must be going! I remember that Yanto told me that Kagome needs her rest and he'll escort her and Inuyasha to the dining hall later. The Maja servants will be even more suspicious if you walk around on your own, so please stay in here--Yanto is trying his hardest to make sure that there is an exception for humans staying here for awhile without being imprisoned. I'm sure it'll be just great since he is so influential and everything. The adjoining room is the sitting room that you can wait in if you are not tired and dinner should be ready in about an hour. I need to go attend to my duties now and it is wonderful to have met you both! My, I hope that everything is straitened out soon!" She danced out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving a strange silence behind her.
"She certainly has energy." Kagome mentioned.
"Sure does." He muttered.
"It is so strange how everyone thinks that we have a relationship or something." Kagome laughed softly. 'Strange? Is it really strange? Not that I want to know or anything.' Inuyasha thought to himself, feeling oddly down.
"Heh, heh, those guys are blind to think we are actually mates are something." Inuyasha laughed with her, though his laugher sounded weak to his own ears. "I mean, why would I become mates with my own slave in the first place?"
"So, that is all I'll be to you?" She smiled grimly. "A slave?"
"Keh, I don't feel like answering that right now." He snorted, though felt uncomfortable by her stare.
"Do you want me to think of you as only my owner?" She asked seriously. "Because I can. If you want, I can do the entire slave routine. I may not be any good at it, but I can do it. Is that what you want?" 'Why does she have to sound so solemn?' He thought to himself.
'No.' That's what he wanted to say. Should say. But…getting close to people was something he tried to avoid. He loved his mother and she died. He had already sworn to protect Kagome. He had promised to help her in her revenge. He needed her to see the shards for him. He was already more deeply tied to her than any other person in the world. He had avoided all of the duties that his brother tried to pressure on his. He didn't ever even want to get a slave. Being alone was safe. But, now there was Kagome. "That's a stupid question." He finally said.
"Is it?" She demanded, her voice raising slightly. Inuyasha felt strangely comforted by this, since at least she didn't sound so serious when she was mad.
"Of course, moron." He said, his voice rising to match hers.
"And how is it?"
"Just because it is."
"That isn't an answer!!" She yelled.
"Well, why do you want to know so much?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"Because, stupid I am in lo--" Suddenly she broke off and turned a strange red color. She seemed to be realizing something that she hadn't even known, and whatever it was, it made her suddenly not able to talk.
"Well?" He asked curiously, though made sure he retained his uncaring look.
"Because…because…damn I'm such an idiot!!" She shrieked. "This can NOT be happening!!!"
"What is it?" He couldn't help but sound worried.
"Nothing!! Just leave me alone!!" She yelled.
"What?" That surprised him even more. 'She wants me to go?' "Why should I listen to you?" He demanded, trying not to let any of the hurt he may be feeling leak out in his voice. 'Did I do something wrong?'
Kagome looked at him with her soft eyes. "I think I need some time to think." She said after a moment, her tone a little milder. "Please?"
"Keh." He muttered, then walked through the door the crazy little Maja had pointed to. 'The sitting room, right?' "Hey, Kagome?" He looked at her. "Do you want to tell me something?" She seemed very confused and, for some reason, he wanted to help her.
"Maybe." She said. "BUT GO AWAY!" She cried, pointing to the door.
"Now you're the one that's making no sense." He muttered and left, not sure whether to feel hurt or annoyed.
Kagome sat on her bed and watched as the door shut behind Inuyasha. She felt such a mixture of feelings that she wasn't sure what she should do. All she knew was that she wanted a moment to think. 'What was I going to tell him?' She wondered to herself. 'I was actually going to say that I loved him.' It had happened so suddenly and she wasn't even sure how it was possible for her to fall in love with a hanyou who considered her a slave. 'Is that even allowed?' She wondered to herself. 'Can it really happen? Am I really in love with…him? A guy who bought me from a slave trader? Who still won't tell me whether or not if he considers me a slave? Who considers me a Shikon detector? Him? Damn it!!'
She started to laugh softly to herself, realizing that the answer to that came to her much easier than expected. "Yes." She whispered. 'Should I tell him?' She shook her head stiffly. 'I can't! He can't possibly feel the same for me so I'd only put him in a difficult situation. I won't tell him how I feel!! I won't!'
'Kagome is annoying. She is annoying. ANNOYING.' Inuyasha thought firmly in his head. 'Making me worry about her just because she needs to go think all by herself. She could tell me what was wrong, then I wouldn't have to wonder! Right, I'll go back in there and ask right now--no I can't. She asked to be alone.' He paced around the room. 'Damn her for making me not know!'
"Because, stupid I am in lo--"
"Whatever she's thinking, it has to do with those words." He murmured to himself. "'Lo--?' What can that be? Long? Lock? Lot?" None of those made any sense. "I am in lock? Nope, doesn't work. Lost? L-Love?" He stopped. Love worked. It fit in perfectly. 'I am in love' "Who is she in love with?" He demanded. He suddenly quit walking as it came to him. 'She is in love with Yanto! But--no, she can't be!! She can't be in love with that tree-guy!' He thought frantically. 'Why not?' A little part of him asked himself.
'Because--she just can't be!' He thought after a moment. 'And why not?' He asked himself again.
"Because…what if she decides to stay here with him? If I don't consider her a slave, that means she has the freedom to stay here, right?" He whispered. 'And, I don't want her to do that…' He thought inwardly. But why? The Shikon? 'Sure I need her to sense the Shikon now. That has to be it!' He said to himself 'Is it?' That thought nagged at him. "Will I just stop thinking!!" He cried.
Kagome's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. "Has it already been an hour?" She wondered to herself, still feeling a little numb by her recent discovery of the name behind all the feelings she had been having recently. She opened the door and saw Yanto waiting expectantly. "Hello again, Yanto." She told him, smiling.
"Good evening, Lady Kagome." Yanto returned her smile, then looked at her worriedly. "My dear, you look like you're upset over something?"
"It's nothing." Kagome told him quickly. "I'll go get Inuyasha--"
"I'm here. I heard the door knock." Kagome jumped in surprise by the voice behind her.
"Of course you did." She said after a moment. "Then lets go." Yanto looked between the two of them with an unreadable expression.
"May I escort you, lovely human?" He asked suddenly, offering his arm. Kagome looked at it for a moment, then accepted the invitation. 'Hey, even if I am only a slave Shikon detector to Inuyasha, I know that he has something against Yanto.' She thought to herself. 'I can kind of get even with him by doing this--and then I don't have to face him until later…'
Inuyasha glared intensely at the back of Yanto's head as the Maja and Kagome walked arm and arm down the hall, he walking just slightly behind. 'That stupid tree.' He thought angrily.
"Where is Konki?" Kagome asked Yanto pleasantly, making Inuyasha even madder. He noticed that she was intentionally avoiding his eye contact and she also seemed a bit distracted by her own thoughts.
"Konki? She is at the temple right now." Yanto told her. "I suppose you met? I told her to wait until later, but when I mentioned about both of you, she was so excited over the possibility to see you."
"She has a lot of…energy." Kagome said thoughtfully. "I envy her openness."
"You seem pretty open yourself." Yanto said complimentingly. "I can read both you and Inuyasha very well."
"What do you mean by that?" Inuyasha demanded, thought he noticed that Kagome was looking very uncomfortable by that comment.
"Nothing, nothing. Just call it the help of the Wisdom." Yanto smiled at both of them. "I like that about both of you. On the surface, you can see one thing, but when you dig deeper, I keep finding more and more surprises." 'What does he mean by that?' Inuyasha wondered.
"What?" He asked angrily, sure that in some way it had to be an insult.
"Oh my, I seem to be digging myself quite the hole." Yanto laughed. "Forget I said anything. I seem to have gotten Inuyasha angry and Kagome fearful that I can read what she is feeling." 'What she is feeling?'
"Oh, it's okay." Kagome said after a moment. "I'm just still a little bit--faint." That sounded oddly fake.
They reached the dining hall and ate a strange meal consisting mainly of fruits and nuts. Afterwards, Yanto lead them into a small sitting room and insisted on them sitting on the couches and relaxing.
"Before you start asking about us, can I ask you something?" Kagome suddenly asked.
"Aye, lovely Kagome." Yanto smiled.
"Why do the Maja's hate the humans so much?" Inuyasha noticed she suddenly bit her lip, as though resisting the urge to ask another question.
Yanto thought carefully, as though organizing his thoughts for the answer. "Lets see…the Maja's use to be a peaceful race who's trust on others was a bit foolish. Being dishonest and breaking rules was against our nature, probably the tree part, so we never thought of others doing that. The sorceress had made the Shikon and had given it to the side of good and somehow it managed to land in our hands. We swore to protect it, but the thought of actually using it never crossed us. We simply believed the world needed balance with good and bad, so using the Shikon against the evil in the world would actually throw us into chaos. Besides, I think none of us would've actually consider taking another's life." Yanto smiled.
"Obviously that rule has changed." Inuyasha muttered.
"Shut up, Inuyasha." Kagome snapped at him. "Please continue." Kagome urged Yanto. 'Feh, all I did was mention that I was still angry that the Maja's tried to hurt her, and she's more interested in listening to Yanto!' He thought angrily to himself.
"My father was the protector of the Shikon at that time and he only allowed a selected few to see the Shikon. Even though we were trustful, we weren't entirely stupid. We knew there was a possibility that it could be stolen so we placed it in a room that could only be accessed by the Shikon's protector. One day, a man named Onigumo arrived to our city. He seemed honest and befriended my father. Onigumo managed to convince him to let him see the Shikon. My father agreed and took him to the room where it was kept, despite the fact that this was highly unusual. Once he and Onigumo entered the room, the human turned around and stabbed my father, instantly killing him. The guards on the other side of the door didn't know what was happening." Yanto's voice grew quieter as he recalled this memory.
"Are you okay?" Kagome suddenly asked, looking at the Maja worriedly.
"Of course he is." Inuyasha snapped, angry by Kagome's concern. 'Evidence that she does love him?' He thought bitterly.
"Inuyasha." He heard her say threateningly.
"I am fine." Yanto said after a moment and quickly continued. "So, my father died and the Shikon was taken by Onigumo. He used its power to escape from our Maja city. He used our trust to get it." Yanto said calmly. "And then he showered our forests with a rain of fire, killing over a half of the trees, burning them to the ground. He burnt other Maja forests in other regions, but with them he made sure they were completely destroyed. Not our village though. He wanted some of us to remain, to see our mistake. To realize that all the destruction to the land was the result of us." Yanto said bitterly.
"He killed a bunch of trees?" Inuyasha asked, laughing a bit. "And that's why you're so angry?"
"You forget that when the trees die, we die." Yanto said softly. "He killed millions of us in one day. The remaining Maja's blamed humans for the deaths. After all, it was a human who stole the Shikon, and a human who created the Shikon. But, prejudice like that should have eventually died out." He added. "However, when the Shikon was broken up by the sorceress, we were selected to be in charge of the Wisdom. It came under Flewna's and I's care. I was the protector, and Flewna had enough Miko powers continuously purify the shard, trying to erase from it the blackness Onigumo, or Naraku, placed over it. By that time, Onigumo had used the Shikon to combine itself with hundreds of Youkai to become Naraku."
"So, Naraku was human…" Kagome said thoughtfully.
"Aye." Yanto nodded. "The reason why the Maja's hate humans so much is because of that terrible event. The Wisdom has effected us in a strange way. It has the ability to enlighten people, and since the hatred for humans was so high, it caused most Maja's anger for humans to only grow as they thought of more and more reasons why the humans were the ones to blame. It doesn't have a chance to die out, since the Wisdom has also made it so that we live unnaturally long lives with little chance for reproducing. The youngest Maja is Konki, whose mother died from the hell fire Onigumo brought to us. If fact, the only Maja's that doesn't hate you would have to be Flewna, Konki, and I." He said, smiling slightly. "Since Flewna and I worked so closely with the Shikon, somehow the effects were a little different and made us realize humans in general weren't the cause of so many deaths."
"Where's Flewna?" Inuyasha asked. 'He has mentioned her before, but I haven't seen her.'
"At the temple. She is dying because of Naraku." Yanto said quietly, and by his tone, even Inuyasha didn't want to ask anymore about it. 'Hmph.' He thought to himself. "So, why are you in Maja territory?" Yanto quickly inquired.
"We want that damn piece of rock you keep in your stupid temple." Inuyasha demanded.
"What he means is that we came in search of the Wisdom in hopes of taking it with us." Kagome corrected quickly, giving him a slight glare. 'What did I do wrong?' He thought to himself.
Yanto looked between them for a moment. "You want the Wisdom?" He asked, a bit amazed. "What do you want it for?"
"We're trying to complete it so Inuyasha can become a full demon, and we'll give it to a girl named Sango who is trying to destroy it." Kagome quickly said before Inuyasha could even open his mouth. "Also, there is a guy named Miroku who wants to use it to draw out Naraku and kill him."
"I see." Yanto thought for a moment. "I must say that the possibility of getting rid of the Wisdom never occurred to me."
"I know it is a bit demanding of us…"Kagome started.
"Oh, I am not offended--in fact I'd love it if you can get rid of the Wisdom. It would probably make my society peaceful again." Yanto admitted.
"Really?" Kagome asked.
"Aye, lovely human. If it was gone, then it wouldn't make us live longer and wouldn't influence my people so much." Yanto said thoughtfully.
"So, we can have it?" Kagome sounded amazed by how easy this was going.
"We can take the stupid rock?" Inuyasha echoed.
"Hmm…kill Naraku?" Yanto suddenly said, as though realizing what this meant. "You'll kill Naraku if you get the Wisdom?" He sounded almost eager by that prospect.
"Yah. We have to kill him to get revenge for Kagome's village as well." Inuyasha said. Kagome nodded and Yanto looked at her in grief.
"Your home was destroyed by that monster?" He asked softly.
"Yes, but I'm all right now. Inuyasha helped me through it." Kagome said after a moment.
"That is wonderful." Yanto looked at Inuyasha and smiled. "I'll be happy to give the Shikon to you…but only if you really are a Miko." He told Kagome.
"I think I might be." Kagome said, seeming surprised. "But how did you know?"
"Um…just a hunch." Yanto said lightly. Inuyasha studied Kagome. She really had no idea what happened earlier, but somehow even Yanto had realized Kagome had Miko powers. He stood up. "Feel free to walk around my mansion now. I have gave all the servant a holiday, so they will not bother you." He said. "There are many beautiful views of the surrounding city through windows, but I suggest not to go outside yourselves. I'll be around, but I need to ask the council of Maja's about the idea of getting rid of the Wisdom. When I explain, it should be easy to convince them." Yanto told them, smiling faintly.
"Thank you!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Hmm…why do you seem more excited about getting the Shikon shard than Inuyasha?" Yanto asked curiously. "After all, from what you've told me, it doesn't seem that you get any gain from getting the Shikon yourself."
"I don't know." Kagome said after a moment. "I just want to get all the Shikon pieces together I guess."
"Interesting." Yanto said thoughtfully. "I guess even though the Shikon is apart, it is still trying to get together. Well, do as you like for awhile. Rest and in the morning, I am sure that you can have the Shikon and be on your way." Kagome nodded happily and left the room in a strangely cheerful mood. Inuyasha started to follow, when he stopped and looked at Yanto, who was looking at him in a strange, observant way.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" He asked in his annoyingly nice tone.
"Do you love Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded. He hadn't really meant to ask that, but that tree guy was getting on his nerves and he did want answers. Yanto gave him a strangely calm smile. "Do you?!"
"You certainly get to the point." Yanto said softly. "What you should be concerned is how you would feel if I did answer yes. Would you feel jealous? Threatened? Worried?"
"Wh-what?" Inuyasha didn't expect this sudden change of events. He was the one who was questioning the Maja--the Maja wasn't supposed to be questioning him. 'Would I feel those things?' he couldn't help but ask himself.
Yanto nodded and sudden walked out of the door. "I'll leave you to your thoughts." It took Inuyasha a second to realize Yanto had never answered his question. 'Damn him!!!
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Hi!!! I finally got the next chapter out!!!!! I also started the next one, so it should also be out soon. I hope you like it!!! Thanks for reading and please, please review!!! You're all so encouraging!!! Thanks!! Oh, I haven't forgotten about Miroku and Sango--they will be coming back in later chapters. Shippou will be in this story, but I have an idea when they will meet up with him. ^_^
Please Review!!!!