(Inuyasha and Co do not belong to me. I just like to write about them. Aiii, what about the fate of Shippo, Kirara, Sango and Miroku? Well you're about to find out. Also, Miroku meets a familar baboon pelted enemy..This one is R for a few swear words and a naughty sentence or three.)
Kanashimi no Hate ni - End To Sorrow - Twenty-One
Shippo and Kirara's Quest/Inside The Shikon Shard
Shippo had carried Kirara far away from the carnage, but he was still afraid. He hated to be alone and with Kirara injured, he did not know what to do. He knew he had to find Kagome, but how? He had no shard to direct him.
It was then he smelled something - something familar.
"K - kagome?" Shippo sniffed the air again, smelling that familar scent.
"KAGO - MMEEEEE!!" The kitsume yelled shrilly, but there was no answer in the stillness of the night. Shippo jumped as he heard a sound nearby. Kanna'na might have sucked up all the youkai who had the shards, but that didn't mean that there weren't lesser youkai out there who would think nothing of eating him as a snack!
"Rowr?" Shippo looked down at Kirara.
"Yay! You're alive, Kirara!" Shippo was happy for at least this much. The demon cat got up and started to lick her wound carefully with her tongue. Shippo sat down next to her, seeking what little comfort she could give.
"Sango..Miroku.." Shippo sighed. "They're in the Shikon no Tama shard and I've got to find Kagome! She was here - I think she was."
The wind rustled through the trees, startling Shippo. Oh how he wished he were in Kaede-baba's house with a warm fire and food and Kagome singing to him!
It was then that the youkai sprang into the air towards Shippo.
"Aiiiieeeee!!" Shippo squeaked as too late, he saw the youkai.Suddenly Kirara had jumped into the path of the youkai, at her full size. Growling and hissing at the ugly creature, she attacked it, but the youkai backed away fearfully. Obviously this youkai was a weak one. Shippo quickly climbled up on Kirara's back, not wanting to waste any time.
"Kirara! We've got to get out of here and find Kagome so she can save Miroku and Sango!"
The demon-cat yowled, it's cry almost anguished. She swiped at the youkai and then she leaped up into the night sky. . Shippo felt a little bit of relief, feeling safer up on Kirara's back than down on the ground in the dark.
"Kirara..are you all right?" Shippo asked worriedly.
Kirara growled softly and Shippo knew that even if she wasn't all right, she'd do anything to save Sango.
"We gotta go towards the West, Kirara..gotta find Kagome. I can smell her a little so maybe you can too!" Shippos leaned into Kiara's fur as he yawned. He shouldn't be sleepy at a time like this! He was their only hope and he had to prove his worth - prove -his - worth..
Within moments the little kitsume fell into an exhausted sleep upon KIrara's back as she headed west.
*****
"Uhhhh...Sango.." Miroku mumbled as he came to. Suddenly he sat up, his eyes wide. "Sango!"
He remembered what had happened - how Kanna'na had taken Sango's body and her soul and placed them inside the shard, sucking him in as well. He stood up on wobbly legs and looked around. The inside of the shard was lit, but it offererd Miroku little comfort. He could not tell just how much room there was and for all he knew Sango could be either a hands reach or a world away. Miroku's mouth tightened in a straight line. He would find Sango and that was that. He had to.
*****
It seemed that Miroku had been walking for hours but it seemed as if he were going nowhere. Inside the shard everything looked the same.
"Kukuku, what's wrong, houshi? Have you lost something?"
Naraku! Miroku knew that voice! He whirled around, ready to use the Air Void in his afflicted hand.
Yes, there was that smiling bastard in his baboon pelt.
Miroku exposed his palm and directed the Air Void towards Naraku. Suddenly Miroku heard the buzzing of insects and knew that Naraku's poisonous bees were near. No, he'd finish Naraku once and for all. After what Kanna'na had done to Sango, he had no real purpose but this moment.
However, Naraku did not budge. Even his baboon pelt stayed in place. But one of the poisonous bees flew into Miroku's Air Void and he gasped, knowing full well the effects of the poison. Quickly he covered his hand, but it was too late.
Miroku waited for the pain of the poison to begin.
~Nothing is happening!~ Miroku thought as he glared at the still Naraku.
"Surprised priest? They're but shadows of what they were. Too bad. You only needed one to kill you." Naraku said with a sly smile.
"Where is Sango!" Miroku spat.
"Ah, Sango, the youkai exterminator. She is somewhere within our little prison, houshi."
"Tell me!" Miroku lauched himself at Naraku, only to find him gone. Naraku appeared directly behind him, and Miroku spun around once more to face his family's enemy.
"Kukuku, you must have had one too many blows to your weak head, houshi! I am but a shadow here. You cannot do anything to me, nor can I do anything to you."
Miroku narrowed his eyes. He did not trust anything that came from Naraku, and yet he suspected that what he said was true. Since Kikyou split Naraku and the shards then it would be safe to say that pieces of him were in each shard, so the conclusion they had come to back in Kaede's hut had been the correct one.
"Then we are at a truce." Miroku said evenly, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Truce?" Miroku could hear the derision in Naraku's voice. "Perhaps if you assist me in defeating Onigumo, I will - " He paused, "Remove the Air Void from your hand."
Miroku's eyes widened as Naraku chuckled.
"I only gave it to your grandfather because I thought it would be amusing since he was a man so bent on getting into every hole, I thought I'd give him his own!" Naraku's eyes were spiteful.
"Bastard from hell!" Miroku growled.
"Kukuku, reduced to name calling? I AM a bastard and if I had had my way, hell would have been considered a paradise! But that is neither here nor there, priest. Onigumo surprised me, oh yes he did. I sought to rid myself of his weak human heart, his weak human lusts and instead he seeks to do Naraku in." Naruku frowned. "Help me defeat Onigumo and I vow that your Air Void will cease to exist in you. You'll be able to have your Sango and make as many disgusting little human brats as you please. I certainly won't stop you."
"You think I'm a fool, Naraku?" Miroku asked. "I know your promises - they are laced with poison, filled with half-truths and lies. No, I won't help you, even if it means your curse stays on me. It's not worth it."
"Sango is not worth it?" Naraku smiled as he took something out of his pouch. In his hand was a small glowing white ball.
"No.." Miroku blanched.
"Pretty little thing isn't it?" Naruku tossed the ball back and forth hand to hand. "Souls are such interesting things, aren't they?"
"You can't harm her here." Miroku took a step closer.
"Perhaps not, but then I could be lying about everything couldn't I?" Naraku grinned evily.
Damn him! Damn him! Miroku wanted to kill him, wanted to tear him from limb to limb. Naraku was the one being he hated in all the world and here he was, taunting him with Sango's soul.
Sango's soul - wait..
Miroku closed his eyes and began to chant softly. Naraku scowled.
"Just what are you doing, priest? Now is not the time for futile prayers. Come, fight for Sango's soul - or better yet, join me. Join me and we shall best Onigumo, that common thief."
Miroku kept chanting and the glowing white ball that consisted of Sango's soul drifted to him. Naraku made a grab for it, but it floated through his hands, since after all, he had less substance than Sango's soul.
Miroku opened his eyes and saw Sango's soul move towards him. He smiled. "Come, Sango..come to me.." Miroku spread out his hands as Naraku watched.
Sango's soul halted just short of Miroku's face and then a bright light covered Miroku's body as her soul entered his body. Miroku gasped, unseeing as he felt Sango within him.
"What an interesting trick, houshi.." Naraku smiled faintly. "But you have to find her body quickly, two differing souls cannot inhabit a human body and survive very long before madness takes place.."
Miroku did not waste any time. He had to find Sango's body within this shard before it was too late.
He closed his eyes and felt a nudging inside him.
~Sango, can you help me?~
~There..there! Go in that direction - to the right. I sense it..Houshi-sama I am afraid..~
~We are together that is what matters..~ Mirouki replied to the voice that he heard faintly within him. ~Together we will find your body, Sango and find a way out of this shard. I swear this.~
So Miroku headed in the direction where Sango told him to go..
Kanashimi no Hate ni - End To Sorrow - Twenty-One
Shippo and Kirara's Quest/Inside The Shikon Shard
Shippo had carried Kirara far away from the carnage, but he was still afraid. He hated to be alone and with Kirara injured, he did not know what to do. He knew he had to find Kagome, but how? He had no shard to direct him.
It was then he smelled something - something familar.
"K - kagome?" Shippo sniffed the air again, smelling that familar scent.
"KAGO - MMEEEEE!!" The kitsume yelled shrilly, but there was no answer in the stillness of the night. Shippo jumped as he heard a sound nearby. Kanna'na might have sucked up all the youkai who had the shards, but that didn't mean that there weren't lesser youkai out there who would think nothing of eating him as a snack!
"Rowr?" Shippo looked down at Kirara.
"Yay! You're alive, Kirara!" Shippo was happy for at least this much. The demon cat got up and started to lick her wound carefully with her tongue. Shippo sat down next to her, seeking what little comfort she could give.
"Sango..Miroku.." Shippo sighed. "They're in the Shikon no Tama shard and I've got to find Kagome! She was here - I think she was."
The wind rustled through the trees, startling Shippo. Oh how he wished he were in Kaede-baba's house with a warm fire and food and Kagome singing to him!
It was then that the youkai sprang into the air towards Shippo.
"Aiiiieeeee!!" Shippo squeaked as too late, he saw the youkai.Suddenly Kirara had jumped into the path of the youkai, at her full size. Growling and hissing at the ugly creature, she attacked it, but the youkai backed away fearfully. Obviously this youkai was a weak one. Shippo quickly climbled up on Kirara's back, not wanting to waste any time.
"Kirara! We've got to get out of here and find Kagome so she can save Miroku and Sango!"
The demon-cat yowled, it's cry almost anguished. She swiped at the youkai and then she leaped up into the night sky. . Shippo felt a little bit of relief, feeling safer up on Kirara's back than down on the ground in the dark.
"Kirara..are you all right?" Shippo asked worriedly.
Kirara growled softly and Shippo knew that even if she wasn't all right, she'd do anything to save Sango.
"We gotta go towards the West, Kirara..gotta find Kagome. I can smell her a little so maybe you can too!" Shippos leaned into Kiara's fur as he yawned. He shouldn't be sleepy at a time like this! He was their only hope and he had to prove his worth - prove -his - worth..
Within moments the little kitsume fell into an exhausted sleep upon KIrara's back as she headed west.
*****
"Uhhhh...Sango.." Miroku mumbled as he came to. Suddenly he sat up, his eyes wide. "Sango!"
He remembered what had happened - how Kanna'na had taken Sango's body and her soul and placed them inside the shard, sucking him in as well. He stood up on wobbly legs and looked around. The inside of the shard was lit, but it offererd Miroku little comfort. He could not tell just how much room there was and for all he knew Sango could be either a hands reach or a world away. Miroku's mouth tightened in a straight line. He would find Sango and that was that. He had to.
*****
It seemed that Miroku had been walking for hours but it seemed as if he were going nowhere. Inside the shard everything looked the same.
"Kukuku, what's wrong, houshi? Have you lost something?"
Naraku! Miroku knew that voice! He whirled around, ready to use the Air Void in his afflicted hand.
Yes, there was that smiling bastard in his baboon pelt.
Miroku exposed his palm and directed the Air Void towards Naraku. Suddenly Miroku heard the buzzing of insects and knew that Naraku's poisonous bees were near. No, he'd finish Naraku once and for all. After what Kanna'na had done to Sango, he had no real purpose but this moment.
However, Naraku did not budge. Even his baboon pelt stayed in place. But one of the poisonous bees flew into Miroku's Air Void and he gasped, knowing full well the effects of the poison. Quickly he covered his hand, but it was too late.
Miroku waited for the pain of the poison to begin.
~Nothing is happening!~ Miroku thought as he glared at the still Naraku.
"Surprised priest? They're but shadows of what they were. Too bad. You only needed one to kill you." Naraku said with a sly smile.
"Where is Sango!" Miroku spat.
"Ah, Sango, the youkai exterminator. She is somewhere within our little prison, houshi."
"Tell me!" Miroku lauched himself at Naraku, only to find him gone. Naraku appeared directly behind him, and Miroku spun around once more to face his family's enemy.
"Kukuku, you must have had one too many blows to your weak head, houshi! I am but a shadow here. You cannot do anything to me, nor can I do anything to you."
Miroku narrowed his eyes. He did not trust anything that came from Naraku, and yet he suspected that what he said was true. Since Kikyou split Naraku and the shards then it would be safe to say that pieces of him were in each shard, so the conclusion they had come to back in Kaede's hut had been the correct one.
"Then we are at a truce." Miroku said evenly, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Truce?" Miroku could hear the derision in Naraku's voice. "Perhaps if you assist me in defeating Onigumo, I will - " He paused, "Remove the Air Void from your hand."
Miroku's eyes widened as Naraku chuckled.
"I only gave it to your grandfather because I thought it would be amusing since he was a man so bent on getting into every hole, I thought I'd give him his own!" Naraku's eyes were spiteful.
"Bastard from hell!" Miroku growled.
"Kukuku, reduced to name calling? I AM a bastard and if I had had my way, hell would have been considered a paradise! But that is neither here nor there, priest. Onigumo surprised me, oh yes he did. I sought to rid myself of his weak human heart, his weak human lusts and instead he seeks to do Naraku in." Naruku frowned. "Help me defeat Onigumo and I vow that your Air Void will cease to exist in you. You'll be able to have your Sango and make as many disgusting little human brats as you please. I certainly won't stop you."
"You think I'm a fool, Naraku?" Miroku asked. "I know your promises - they are laced with poison, filled with half-truths and lies. No, I won't help you, even if it means your curse stays on me. It's not worth it."
"Sango is not worth it?" Naraku smiled as he took something out of his pouch. In his hand was a small glowing white ball.
"No.." Miroku blanched.
"Pretty little thing isn't it?" Naruku tossed the ball back and forth hand to hand. "Souls are such interesting things, aren't they?"
"You can't harm her here." Miroku took a step closer.
"Perhaps not, but then I could be lying about everything couldn't I?" Naraku grinned evily.
Damn him! Damn him! Miroku wanted to kill him, wanted to tear him from limb to limb. Naraku was the one being he hated in all the world and here he was, taunting him with Sango's soul.
Sango's soul - wait..
Miroku closed his eyes and began to chant softly. Naraku scowled.
"Just what are you doing, priest? Now is not the time for futile prayers. Come, fight for Sango's soul - or better yet, join me. Join me and we shall best Onigumo, that common thief."
Miroku kept chanting and the glowing white ball that consisted of Sango's soul drifted to him. Naraku made a grab for it, but it floated through his hands, since after all, he had less substance than Sango's soul.
Miroku opened his eyes and saw Sango's soul move towards him. He smiled. "Come, Sango..come to me.." Miroku spread out his hands as Naraku watched.
Sango's soul halted just short of Miroku's face and then a bright light covered Miroku's body as her soul entered his body. Miroku gasped, unseeing as he felt Sango within him.
"What an interesting trick, houshi.." Naraku smiled faintly. "But you have to find her body quickly, two differing souls cannot inhabit a human body and survive very long before madness takes place.."
Miroku did not waste any time. He had to find Sango's body within this shard before it was too late.
He closed his eyes and felt a nudging inside him.
~Sango, can you help me?~
~There..there! Go in that direction - to the right. I sense it..Houshi-sama I am afraid..~
~We are together that is what matters..~ Mirouki replied to the voice that he heard faintly within him. ~Together we will find your body, Sango and find a way out of this shard. I swear this.~
So Miroku headed in the direction where Sango told him to go..
