A/N: Well, it looks like little25victor got to review before this new chapter, so thank you. Also, thank you to those that put this or its author on their lists.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
One Hanyou Too Many
Three Birds, One Stone
Miroku came upon the Honorable Mother as she was enjoying a midmorning snack, the scent of fresh meat making his stomach growl. Shoving down the urge to ask for a helping, the monk turned hanyou gave a merry little whistle and breezed on by her table as if he hadn't seen her. The box he held contained a shogi board and pieces that Kagome had brought, something that they liked to play in the evenings when on the road.
"What have you there, monk?" the demoness called, and he stopped in his tracks as if just realizing that he'd forgotten to greet his hostess.
"Ah, my lady, forgive my rudeness. This is a shogi game, brought from dear Kagome's homeland. I was just in search of a partner to play. My friends are quite put out with my experience, save Inuyasha, but sometimes he doesn't have the patience for the game."
Gold eyes studied him for several moments before a slight smile graced painted lips. Showing a bit of fang, the elder dog demon waved a hand at the seat across from her. "I will be more than happy to play against you," she invited and gestured to a servant to clear the table. "It has been some time since I had a chance to play myself."
"Wonderful, wonderful! I do hope I don't disappoint." Miroku sat on the on the free cushion and began setting up the game. The board and its pieces were inexpensive so that if they got lost, it wasn't a huge issue, but it had been difficult for Kagome to find a set that was made out of wood so as to not leave evidence behind of the future.
"You are quite the strategist, are you not, Miroku?" the Honorable Mother asked, noticing that he was thinking quite carefully before making any move. On the battlefield she was normally decisive and brutal, but shogi called for skill and patience. The nature of the game lent itself to long matches and she sensed that he could draw things out for a good while should she let him.
"I do try to think before I act, my lady. My life hangs in the balance because of Naraku's curse and to act foolishly would only shorten the time I have left."
"A bit fatalistic, are you not? Do you not think your friends and you will defeat the half demon?"
"I know we will do our utmost, but he has created several ways to slip our grasp. One of which is that he has hidden his heart. When he does make an appearance, it is often as a golem, and we are unable to differentiate between him and it. I believe that ability stems from him using his hair to create the thing and so his scent is what Inuyasha and our other demon friends and allies smell. If my spiritual powers were greater, or if Kagome was better trained, we might be able to tell better, but alas it is not to be." Miroku moved his gold general, unsurprised when she captured it and put it to use right away.
"Your miko friend is untrained?"
"Despite being from a shrine family, yes. She did not come into her powers until the day she met Inuyasha. Lady Kaede is slowly teaching her. Unfortunately, it is hard for her to find the time between searching for jewel shards and the responsibilities she has at home. As you know from having your own powers, my lady, it takes many years to master and control such strength."
"It does," the demoness agreed. "Trials of courage and cowardness have their place, but I see that the strategy is working against her."
"There is no doubt to her courage. Her strength, both of heart and soul cannot be questioned. Most of us are warriors with several years of experience, but she has sworn to be with us to the end despite how little she's trained. I fear though that Naraku has had many more years to plot, plan and grow in strength."
"Have you not sought the advice of your elders?"
"Lady Kaede was a child when Naraku was born, and he did not stick around for her to become knowledgeable about how he began his life as a demon. My grandfather confronted him once and got cursed for his trouble. It is through him that we learned that he has always been a shapeshifter. I'm afraid there hasn't been any other demons that have come to us with knowledge of how he's come to be so powerful. Of course, there is the Shikon Jewel to consider. He has used it to grow rapidly in the last months."
"Hmm, that jewel has always been troublesome. I heard that it shattered not long ago. Your friend has some shards."
"Yes," Miroku answered, unsurprised that she knew. They hadn't tried to hide the ones Kagome carried.
"She is capable of purifying them then?"
"Instantly, regardless of how tainted they are." The monk turned hanyou paused, as if he were considering which piece to move next. Slowly he picked up another piece and moved it to capture one of hers. He added it to his army before looking up at her. "Has Sesshoumaru not sought your council about this?"
"The gods forbid he do something so wise. Had he only asked, I would have given it freely."
"Would you give it freely now?"
"Are you asking for my council, monk?" the demon lord's mother inquired, eyes concentrated on the board game.
"I have considered the matter. As you are a noble, no doubt you have wondered about the risk Naraku poses to your clan and family. I have no doubt that you have also considered ways of nullifying that risk."
"You are correct. Naraku is a nuisance that cannot be allowed to roam much longer. He poses a risk far greater than most assume."
"Then I would be most grateful for you advice, my lady. One so wise must not be discounted."
"After nearly one millennium, one would hope I had some wisdom."
"I never would have guessed your age. A mere six hundred at most."
"Flatterer. No, I have seen just over eight hundred years on this earth. I have fought many enemies and no doubt will clash with many more before my time is done. Come, tell me what tactics Naraku has used that have caused you such trouble." She moved her king without thinking and took a sip of the tea that still sat at her elbow.
"He is a shapeshifter, which can be troublesome for those of us that cannot smell his putridness. In this form I would have no issue, as Inuyasha nearly recoils when that fiend comes around, but alas human noses cannot detect things that are well hidden. Then there is the fact that we cannot locate his heart. He finally realized not long ago that it would be a good idea to separate it from his body and hide it. It is fixated on Lady Kikyo and in an attempt to rid himself of his human desire for her, he's 'tossed' it aside."
"He still keeps it safe, however…" the mother mused.
"Yes, because he knows that if we were to destroy it, we would destroy him."
"Go on."
"Then there are his 'reincarnations.' Pieces of himself that he has detached from his body and used to create other demons like Kagura and Kanna."
"The wind demoness and the mirror child. I have heard of them."
"Kanna has no personality and is completely loyal to him. Kagura is just the opposite. She hates Naraku just as much as we do and despises the fact that she is chained to him. He holds her heart though, so she cannot disobey him as she'd like."
"Ah."
"There are others that we've come across, of course. We've been able to defeat them after a time, but it is getting tedious and more difficult. The last thing he has done, is the worst."
"Hmm?"
"He toys with our hearts. Sango's been through the worst of it, followed by Inuyasha. He's a master manipulator in that regard. Sango, her father, her little brother, and a group of demon slayers were called to a castle on the pretext of needing to do away with a demon. Once there, Naraku, pretending to be the lord of the castle, took possession of Sango's brother's body and made him slay the others. He then had the castle guards kill Kohaku. He buried them in a mass grave thinking that was the end of the matter and sent a hoard of demons to slay the rest of the village of demon slayers so that they couldn't avenge their deaths. Sango did not die and crawled her way to the surface. Trying to use her pain and anger to his advantage, he gave her a shard of the jewel and sent her after Inuyasha and the rest of us, blaming us for what happened at the village. Almost as soon as that misunderstanding was cleared up, he used another shard to bring her little brother back to life, stole his memories, and is controlling him. Sango has been forced to witness any number of tragedies caused by her brother."
Miroku drank from his own cup, something that had appeared without asking. He watched golden orbs narrow into slits and felt her youki spike in anger. She held a hand to the stone around her neck, a small amount of energy leaking out of it in response to her feelings. "What has she done to my stepson?"
"Before I met Inuyasha and Kagome, a mountain witch stole the ashes of Lady Kikyo, the one Naraku is obsessed with. You see, fifty years ago, Inuyasha and she were planning on using the Shikon Jewel to make him human. They thought the wish would purify the jewel for good and they could live as a couple for the rest of their mortal lives."
"That would not have worked."
"I have determined that as well, my lady." The monk moved another piece of his almost aimlessly. "Naraku, then a man named Onigumo, was a thief who had been severely burned and was at the mercy of Lady Kikyo's kindness. Not wanting to die, and wanting the priestess for himself, he sold his soul to the demons nearby and became the half demon Naraku. In an attempt to get them to turn on each other, Naraku attacked Inuyasha disguised as Kikyo; and vise versa. Angry and betrayed, Inuyasha stole the jewel and well…"
"The priestess pinned him to the tree."
"For what she thought was forever. She had her sister burn the jewel with her body and believed that would be the end of the matter. It wasn't. Not only did her reincarnation come to the past with the jewel intact, but the mountain witch separated Kagome's soul, putting part of it in the clay body she made for Kikyo." That wasn't precisely how things had gone, but the story was getting a bit long.
"No wonder Inuyasha's heart wavers where the young girl is concerned. A walking representation of his past love is wandering around with part of her soul and Naraku toys with them all."
"Yes. I imagine that he'll soon go after Kagome directly in some manner. She has had a relatively good childhood, save for the death of her father when she was younger, but she has three other family members to which she can still cling. It's only a matter of time before he figures out what'll hurt her the most. She does love Inuyasha so perhaps that is what he'll try to taint."
"If he taints her heart, he'll taint the shards she has."
"Yes, I know."
"Checkmate," Sesshoumaru's mother suddenly declared, a devious grin on her face. "You are quite accomplished, monk. We should play again sometime." She rose and smoothed her kimono shirks. "For now, I must think on what you have told me. There really is only one way to deal with a master manipulator."
"And that is?" he asked, rising to stand opposite her. Her eyes turned sharp, and he could see why people feared her. There was a slight tilt to her mouth as well, reminiscent of her son.
"You must manipulate the manipulator. Naraku has gotten this far because he's smart and knows the right thing to do to hurt people the most. You have gone after him directly because that's the kind of people you are. Subterfuge is not in your make-up. It is, however, in mine." She left without another word, and he sighed in relief. Perhaps it was best that she didn't seem to know about his less than honorable past, and his tendency to fake exorcisms to win shelter. Or that the whole shogi game had been a set up to figure out just which way she was leaning when it came to Naraku. Now they did.
The Honorable Mother was planning to wipe him off the face of the planet.
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were waiting for Miroku in the back courtyard, swords drawn, but for sparring rather than actual fighting. The brothers stopped their banter, now more a force of habit rather than actual hate. "So?" the younger asked when they spotted him.
"Sesshoumaru's mother is a wonderful shogi player."
"I did say she liked games."
"Yes, and that's not all. The wisdom that she has earned over eight hundred plus years has always been here for the taking, had you just asked. So I did."
"And?" his friend pressed.
"Let's just say that the master manipulator is about to meet his match on that front. I have no doubt that she has been planning something for many months. Possibly decades."
"Hn. Having us here is part of the plan."
"Very likely. She told me that subterfuge was not in our make-up, but it was in hers. Then she gave a little grin, kind of like what you do that freaks Jaken out," Miroku told Sesshoumaru.
"Tch. No wonder you used the Un-Mother to try to get Tetsusaiga," Inuyasha grumped.
"It was something I remembered her mentioning when I was a child. It was not honorable of me, and she would not have approved." Sesshoumaru didn't go as far as an outright apology, but it was as close as he was likely to ever get so Inuyasha took it as such.
"Keh. What else did she say?"
"I believe my telling her of what we have run into with Naraku has filled in some gaps for her plan. She was quite angry upon learning about Kohaku and the stone around her neck responded to that anger."
"That is the Meidou Seki, my lords," Myouga sighed, partly in relief. He would not have to hint at anything. The boys seemed to have figured what the lady was up to on their own. "It is a pathway to the Underworld that she can open at will. Your esteemed father gave that to her to protect and use at her discretion."
"Why the hell would he do that?"
"Because she is the Lady of the Moon, as well as the Honorable Mother."
"You're going to have to elaborate, Myouga," Inuyasha ordered.
"She is a noble who takes her position seriously. She has a duty to protect this land, just as your father did. The Meidou Seki is one of her greatest weapons. Some believe that she has become soft since his passing, but those that know her best, know the truth."
"So that is her true aim," Sesshoumaru murmured. When the others looked at him in question, the grin that spelled trouble appeared. "She plans on reminding the other nobles that she has the power to destroy them if she wishes. She'll do that by getting rid of Naraku, something we have not been able to do, even with Father's swords at our sides. Plus she'll warn anyone out there that might want to take Naraku's place that they'd better think again."
"And you'll do it all with a smile and a party. With everyone here in her territory, under her own roof even."
"Ah, she is a devious one," Miroku said and couldn't help but chuckle. "A show of force, getting rid of what she sees as a nuisance, and company to enjoy it with."
"Three birds, one stone," Sesshoumaru intoned, remembering a lesson she had imparted long ago.
"You're mother is something else," his brother grumbled.
"Indeed."