Mirror Images

Chapter Five: Slaphappy

Hello hello hello! 'Tis I, Jade the Insane, back for another…er…fun-filled chapter…yeah. Technically, I should be doing my math homework, but that's what the wee hours of the morning are for. -^_^-

First off, however, I would like to answer a few questions and reply to a few comments from the reviews. Someone asked exactly how many people are writing under Geldyn Eyes and whether it was just Saph and I or there was someone else involved. It's just me and Saph, and if you're curious, here's how it started: I was over at her house one day, and she asked me to beta-read the first chapter of Mirror Images. I agreed, and then got into the story to the point where we were collaborating on the plot. Somehow—I can't remember if I suggested it or she did—I ended up being slated for writing the third and fourth chapters, with the plan that she would take this and the sixth or we would switch off each chapter. Well, one snowy winter-vacation day, I had nothing better to do, so I drew a picture of Fushiginoko Tower and wrote out the exact chain of events for the rest of the story (which will probably fluctuate and go all over the place, but at least it was a vague outline). When I explained to Saph what I thought should happen in this chapter, though, she basically threw up her hands and handed the story over to me because she didn't want to keep it all straight.

Second, someone commented on them using post-industrial age terms such as 'you're on crack' and this is a good point. ::long pause as I think:: This is going to be kinda complicated. Mirror Images, as it is, is set in a fantasy world that is not Earth but more like a parallel world where certain things are the same and certain things are not. In their world, though, there are drugs, and considering in most books magic tends to involve plants and fungi, everything found in nature would have been investigated. Also, the continent this is set in is very large—large enough for there to be a glacier on one end and a rainforest in the south. There are plants from Earth and some not from Earth, but in relation some Earth plants do not exist there. For example, they'd have a made-up herb called…um…thistletwone, but there'd be no holly. Or something like that. So things like crack, being processed from the cacao plant (Gotta love Health class—I swear they make us research this stuff so we know just what to buy) and 'magic mushrooms' exist in that world, and their uses are very well known. Also, this is not going to apply in this version of Mirror Images, but the times of Earth and the world they exist in are pretty evenly matched, only their world hasn't been subject to industrialism and there actually is magic. I say 'this version' because we're considering the possibility of changing the names and quite a few things and seeing if it could be published, since it is an AU. Kagome would be Aidan (little fire), Inuyasha would be Caelan (strong warrior), Miroku would be Keir (dark), Sango would be Lexael (derived from Lexa, 'protector of humanity'), Sesshoumaru would be Valin (powerful warrior [as opposed to Caelan's 'strong warrior' -_-;;;]) and Shippô I may cut altogether, I dunno. But also I'm worried about it being plagiarism. I mean, instead of being half-demon Caelan is half-changeling, and he turns human every night instead of new moons, and there is no sit necklace, and Aidan's powers come from her bloodline (she and every other mage is descended from the Faye, the makers of the world and the Fushiginoko (Retaren-Anm) Tower, and the last Faye makes the Shikon (Aislinn—that means 'dream' and as the Shikon Jewel is called the Jewel of Four Souls, the jewel in this one is called DreamGate because it allows the user to control people through their dreams) Jewel (the last Faye's name is Akallyah, but she takes the place of Midoriko and the reason Midoriko mentions being reincarnated is because the third book—if it gets published—will be about her reincarnation, who was born on Earth). And the Naraku figure is going to be one sick, sad, messed up little puppy. -^_^-

But I worry about the characters. Will it be too similar to Inuyasha? Will I get slapped with a lawsuit? Should I do it? Am I just being overly anal about it? Feel free to review at the end and let me know—I want some other people's input on this, definitely.

Anyway, yes I did do a picture of Fushiginoko Tower, and if you're curious, it should be on my Side7 account. I'll see if I can put a link at the bottom of this page or on our profile site… Oh yes, and Demon Without Fangs is Saph's brainchild. No editing, no writing, no suggestions from me. (Which explains why it gets out faster than my chapters!)

Disclaimer: Oh jeez, I think I've made it pretty clear that I don't own this by now. But if you're convinced I do, get a life. I don't.

Oh yeah! And someone mentioned that the Tower's defenses were down so Naraku could get in—he didn't, he used his miasma-floaty-thingy and went straight to the roof. Also, when Inuyasha tells Kagome to shoot the bird following them, that wasn't a bird—it was Monkey-man. It will alllll become clear soon enough….

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There had been only two times in my life when my head had hurt quite this much. The first was when Grandpa and Souta had decided it'd be funny to get me drunk as a skunk during the Winter Solstice Festival. My reputation was never quite the same after cartwheeling around the marketplace and belting out the most vulgar drinking song I had known at the time at the most ungodly hour of night imaginable.

Unfortunately, this was the second time.

I found myself spouting off a surprisingly long string of words that would have not done wonders for my reputation either and rolling over so the sun wouldn't hurt my eyes quite so much. Then something sent a tiny electrical shock through me, spreading from my hand and coursing through my veins to dull the pain from not only my headache but, I discovered as I dragged myself into a sitting position with a groan, my bandaged forearms. I'd no recollection of putting them on there or why my arms needed bandaging, so I carefully unwrapped them, only to find strange, spidery red lines that ran over my hands and up to my elbows. The flesh around them was slightly swollen and flushed, but it was the lines that stung the most, as if they were burns—but the lines were so fine and delicate, it seemed almost as if someone had had to draw them there.

A glowing pulse emitted from my hand, and soothing light washed over my arms. The lines faded, then turned to white scars, and my headache vanished. Opening my hand, I found my piece of the Shikon Jewel and bit my lip. It gleamed at me with the innocence of a child, but when I picked it up, I found one last scar: a white crescent-moon where it had laid in my palm.

I vaguely recalled it cutting into my hand as I clenched it on the top of the Tower, but my hands had been bleeding long before then…That was where the scars had come from: the overload of power. I rubbed the crescent on my palm thoughtfully, then looked around.

I was in a clearing. A fire crackled to my left, thin wisps of clouds stretching across a sky washed in red-gold on one side and indigo on the other. Twisting, I could see the Tower through the trees, an enormous and aged presence in my mind. The memories sent a brief shiver down my spine, and I closed my eyes momentarily. They opened when my stomach made its demands clear with a deep rumble.

Inuyasha must have somehow gotten both of us and our packs down from the tower, because they were both there. I crawled over to mine and pulled out a pot, some herbs and dried meat and vegetables, and the water skin, then dumped some water in, took a long drink for myself to eradicate the horrible taste from being asleep too long, and started making some stew.

It was simmering over the fire when there was a snap behind me and I whirled around, only to find Inuyasha with an armful of wood and two wood grouses. "You're up," he observed, dropping the wood with a clatter and waving the grouses at me. "Can you use these?"

I blinked. "Actually, yes." They would do well in the stew.

"Good." He handed them to me and I would have started plucking them if he hadn't wrapped a hand around my right wrist and pulled out the arm, studying the light lines. "I take it the Jewel helped you heal."

I inexplicably found myself blushing and pulled my hand free. "It did it all on its own. Thanks for bandaging them, though."

He snorted and stood up. "Humans heal too slow. I didn't want to have to amputate your arms if they got infected and have you slow us down anymore than you already are."

I'd just used my dagger to decapitate one of the grouses. Its head was hurled at his bag, but unfortunately for him he turned around and my aim had been off, so it hit him in the face instead. He swore and sent me a look that could have killed relatively small animals.

Something picked up on the edge of my senses, something oddly familiar, though I couldn't quite place it…My fingers ran over the crescent scar again.

And it all snapped into place.

"Someone's coming," I said tersely, trying to concentrate. "Someone with a shard of the Jewel…they're getting closer…"

"Naraku," Inuyasha growled. His hand went to the hilt of a weapon at his hip—but it wasn't the dirk he'd been using before; it was a long sword.

"What do we do?" I asked, voice tense, heart thudding in my ears.

"We let him come to us, and we beat the shit out of him," replied the grim Inuyasha.

His ears had long before picked up on someone coming through the woods, and now mine did too. A robed figure was pushing through the underbrush, dark and unidentifiable, and I slowly got to my feet, getting my bow and an arrow and stringing it.

Inuyasha sent me a look that said 'You couldn't hit him if you tried', but I ignored that and tried to line up a shot, then loosed.

While it didn't get within fifteen feet of the approaching person, it did fly swiftly into the treetops, and a moment later there was a squawk and something fell in a flurry of feathers. I covered my mouth with my free hand, appalled, and Inuyasha muttered, "Smooth. Now he knows we know he's there."

The figure started, then ducked, and Inuyasha yelled, "Show yourself, you bastard, before I make you into next week's jerky!"

"Ew, Inuyasha, that was gross." I shuddered.

"Yeah, well, it worked."

The person stood up slowly, hands raised, and walked forward until he reached the edge of the clearing. "I'd no idea you were so…territorial," he said, sounding somewhat nervous. "If I'd known that was how you viewed all travelers, I assure you I would have not approached your…Kagome?"

"Approached my what?!" Inuyasha sputtered.

I, in turn, blinked. "Miroku?"

The man pushed back his hood. "None other. What the devil are you doing here? No one knew what'd happened to you after you were taken by the guards—we received no word, and no one knew what'd happened to you."

"Who is this?" Inuyasha demanded.

"I didn't think anyone would miss me, among other things," I said dryly. "I know the town mothers don't hold me in particularly high regard."

He laughed. "Oh, yes, I remember that—the drinking, the cartwheeling, the song—how did it go? There once was a farmer who lived by a crick, and every night he would play with his—"

"Kagome, explain," Inuyasha cut in.

 "BANGO in the moonlight and watch the lady next door," Miroku continued gleefully, "and you could tell just by looking that she was a—"

"Miroku, stop!" I tried to command, but I was half-bent over from laughing.

"DECENT young lady, and she'd roll in the grass, and when she rolled over you could see her white—"

"SHUT UP!" Inuyasha bellowed. Miroku stolidly ignored him.

"LEGS in the moonlight, and it was the farmer's good luck when she went and told him she'd teach him to—"

"MIROKU! STOP! I GET THE POINT!" [AN: That actually is a real song, which I partially learned courtesy of the seniors on the bus.] I ran a hand through my hair, then realized the presence of a Shikon Jewel was still there. "Miroku, do you—" I cut off when I saw a glow coming from his right shoulder. "You have one, don't you?"

"Have one what? Kagome, what in the seven hells is going on?" Inuyasha looked ready to suffer a massive coronary collapse.

"This is Miroku," I said distractedly. "Miroku, this is Inuyasha, Prince of Tetsui. Miroku's a friend of mine and a priest from my old town. But…he's got a shard."

He blinked. "How did you know that?"

"Turns out I'm a mage," I sighed.

"So'm I, a mage-priest, but I've walked through the halls of my old mage-monastery school under the eye of fifty trained and powerful priests and they didn't notice a thing."

I shrugged. "Anyway, we've kinda got to get the Jewel back together so we can save Princess Kikyo…so…um…can we have your shard?"

On 'have' Inuyasha had started walking towards him, and by 'shard' he'd seized Miroku by the front of his robes and hauled him up, his sandaled feet dangling a few feet from the ground. "Shard. Now."

"Like I said, you really aren't big on 'please' and 'thank you', are you?" I asked cynically. "Put him down."

In response, he shook the unruffled Miroku. "Hand it over or I've got me a new scratching post. Please."

"Inuyasha, sit." There was a muffled wumpf and a not-so-muffled oath, but I could see the glisten of a second Jewel shard tightly clutched in his fist.

Immediately, it flashed darker and Miroku cried out, falling to his knees, face paling several shades. Sweat rolled down his face, and I shouted, "Inuyasha, give it back to him!" When the said demon gave me an irritated and questioning look, I gestured to the shuddering monk. "He needs it!"

He grudgingly dropped the shard into Miroku's shaking palm, and a moment later the priest straightened, breathing hard. "…There's the answer to that," he gasped out. "I'm afraid I have to hold onto this for a little while."

"What was that?" I asked wonderingly.

He paused, then reached out and plucked away the chunk of the Jewel Inuyasha had hanging around his neck. The hanyou jumped and flinched, paling himself, then snatched the piece back. "The demonstration wasn't necessary, you dumbass," he growled, glowering at him. "You could've just told her!"

"A picture is worth a thousand words, my good friend." Miroku dusted himself off, then sat down by the fire and lifted the lid of the stewpot. "Mm, smells good."

"Hey—get out of there!" Inuyasha's foot moved swiftly towards the man's side, only to be cracked across the ankle with his staff. "Ow! Shit, you ass, that hurt! Kagome, make him go away!"

I shrugged. "If he goes, he takes the Shikon Jewel shard with him."

"No he doesn't! He's leaving it right here!"

That earned him another whack from the staff, this time over the head, though miraculously the freshly-ladled bowl of stew remained balanced on Miroku's knee. "I have no intention of dying a horrible, painful death," he said dryly. "And undoubtedly, I will die if I lose the shard I have, most likely until the Shikon Jewel is reunited."

"So that's settled. Miroku's coming with us." I walked over to the pack, ignoring Inuyasha's sullen muttering, and bent over to dig out another bowl.

I had recalled Miroku's unfortunate tendencies around female hindquarters and straightened hastily just as a hand brushed my backside. I slapped him, face burning a bright scarlet, and yelled, "YOU PERVERT!" Inuyasha had already leapt to his feet, looking ready to kill.

Miroku mournfully rubbed his reddened cheek and let out a long sigh.  "You know of my curse, dear Kagome, and what I must do."

"Yeah, but not with me!" I sent him a dirty look, went around the packs so I wouldn't be within range, and pulled out the bowl.

"Try that again and I don't care what Kagome says, I'm ripping you to shreds," Inuyasha muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Miroku pretended not to hear, but I noticed.

It was going to be a long, long night.

~

Inuyasha glowered at the monk calmly sipping his soup. How dare he stroll in, treat him like an ignorant young puppy, feel up Kagome, and settle right in without so much as a 'by-your-leave'?

And where did he get the idea that he can touch Kagome?

He blinked, a bit startled. Where had that thought come from? Sure, the girl was okay, if a bit obnoxious, but it wasn't like she was his territory or anything. Besides, he had an obligation to Kikyo—they'd been betrothed, after all. That was probably his father's stupid idea that falling for humans would run in the family.

Not like he wasn't right, pointed out that annoying voice in his head that many would have called the voice of reason. He just called it a pain in the ass. You and Kikyo were pretty tight for a while. Of course, when you saw her in Multaro was the first time you'd seen her in three years. Word is she's turned into the ice queen. Kagome, on the other hand—there's something to make you wonder how the two could even be compared. Kikyo: Ice Queen. Kagome: Fire Princess, practically. Kikyo wouldn't even touch a dead bird, and Kagome hit you in the face with one's head. Oh yeah, they're really alike. It's like Kagome's…everything Kikyo's afraid to be.

She's just a peasant with some powers, shot back the nasty voice in his head. And she's the only way to getting Kikyo back. She's a tool, that's all. My tool.

My Kagome. If Miroku touches her one more time, I'm killing him.

He shook his head. Where was this coming from?! It wasn't like he was jealous—it wasn't like he even liked Kagome that much! She was the most disrespectful, brutally honest, rude girl he'd ever met, and she was nothing compared to Kikyo! He didn't like her…Right? He couldn't be jealous.

She laughed from the other side of the fire with Miroku, most likely over some stupid thing that had happened in the past. She never laughed with him. In fact, she didn't even smile nearly so much with him. This Miroku was nothing but a lady's man—couldn't she see that?

Inuyasha crossed his arm and hmphed to himself. He wasn't jealous.

~

By eight o'clock the next morning, Miroku had been slapped seventeen times, Inuyasha had been whacked over the head with the staff twenty-three times, and I was ready to strangle both of them. How did it happen that instead of it being the 'brave and noble' Princess Kikyo coming to the rescue of a kingdom and halting a war, it was the 'normal-and-never-wanted-to-be-doing-this' Kagome? Clearly, some deity had a sick and twisted sense of humor, but I was not really appreciating it right then.

"We'd better find somewhere to pick up more supplies," I called to Inuyasha, who was walking ahead. "We have no clue where the remaining shard is, so we might as well stock up."

He gave no acknowledgement of my statement but lifted his head, sniffing deeply and narrowing his eyes. "There's a village about ten miles north," he announced after a minute. "Lots of people, metal, and bone. Probably a warrior clan."

"That's going to have to work," said Miroku. "I wonder how anyone survived in this kingdom after twelve years of being walled in by that shield."

"Who knows." I shrugged. "Anyway, let's get a move on. The last thing we need is Naraku getting to that shard before we do."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the mention of his name, but he continued to lead us on.

~

About twelve miles north of the Fushiginoko Tower, a village was perched on the top of a hill. It was surrounded by a high wall of sharpened logs, and clearly well-defended, for if the people there had wanted to survive the past twelve years, they had had to learn to battle the remnants of Naraku's army that had survived and been entrapped within the kingdom's borders after the fall of the queen. Aohoshi had once been a proud kingdom and had acted as the peacekeeper and regulator of the other countries, but in these times it was Aohoshi itself that needed the peace and order.

The village was part of those who struggled to maintain at least part of that, the guardians of the Tower. Hope had risen when the Tower had come to life again, and some had whispered that the Shikon Jewel would be found and used to right the wrongs and reinstate the queen. Of course, when the clouds had cleared and the lightning ring stopped spinning, and the great flash had faded and something had streaked through the sky like a shooting star and landed within their village, the hope had dimmed somewhat, but what would happen now was beyond even the oldest Seer's knowledge.

A few miles to the east of the village, a figure was cutting through the forest in a streak of black and cream. Before it sprinted an enormous, chittering creature, something like a mix between a ferret and an iguana, crashing through the underbrush, movements ungainly.

"Faster, Kirara," the rider urged, unhitching a giant boomerang from its straps. "It's going to be a tough shot from between the trees."

The giant two-tailed cat let out a rumbling cry and they flashed past tree and bush, ever getting nearer to their prey. "Here goes nothing," the young woman muttered. "Hiraikotsu, please don't—miss!"

The boomerang was hurled with deadly accuracy, quite a feat from such a slender girl. Whistling slightly, it spiraled faster and faster, then struck the demon in the back, ripping down. It let out an ear-rending shriek, then spewed a cloud of vapors at the approaching pair. They wouldn't avoid the cat-creature, but she was all too vulnerable to them, so she slid her filter mask over her nose and demounted, waiting for it to stop thrashing. When it had stilled, she bent over the mass of fur and scales and surveyed it with a practiced eye. "Good collarbone…oh, and the ribs are still intact for the most part. Papa will be pleased. Let's see…thighbones still whole, and the claws weren't damaged…Look, Kirara—the poison glands aren't even tapped! And the people want to pay us—we should pay them!"

The cat daemon let out a questioning grumble, and she nodded. "Sure, you eat up, I'll change out of my working clothes... Just don't touch the paws, they've got poison in them, and be sure not to break any bones." Kirara purred happily and headed over, licking her jaw, and the young woman ducked behind a stand of bushes incase anyone stumbled on them and pulled out a robe from her pack.

Within minutes, she emerged, hair let down from the ponytail, scarlet eyes sparkling from the joy of the hunt. Kirara had made short work of any flesh—their quarry hadn't been too big, considering—and all that was left was a neat stack of clean bones and four untouched paws. "Excellent." She wrapped them in cloth and tucked them in her pack, picked up her boomerang, and, grasping the thick fur, climbed up onto the cat daemon's back. "Back to the village!"

As they sped along, returning to the small town that had requested they exterminate the demon, Sango glanced down at her necklace to make sure it was still there. Thankfully, it was, for it was no cheap token to be thrown away.

The pale rosy-lavender piece of crystal caught the light, swinging from the rocking motion of riding Kirara, and reflected it sharply.

~

A figure stood before the doors of the cold and lifeless Fushiginoko Tower, a thoughtful and slightly angered look on his face, as if he had discovered something that would be a mild inconvenience to him. His long, flowing white hair cascaded down his back, his eyes golden, slanted, and long-lashed. He wore expensive armor and a sword was strapped at his side, though it didn't appear he used it often, if at all. A long, furry…something was draped over his shoulder, though whether it was for effect or part of his anatomy there was no telling.

"What are we waiting for, My Lord?" the diminutive creature beside him inquired nervously.

"Is it your place to question me, Jaken?" the man asked, voice smooth and cold, like a gleaming blade of icy steel.

"N-no, of course not, My Lord!" he sputtered frantically. "You are always right! Please forgive me!"

"The Tetsusaiga is not here," he said, betraying no emotion. "My brother must have taken it."

"The unworthy whelp? His hands soiling the Tetsusaiga?!" indignantly squawked the man's underling.

"Need I repeat myself, Jaken?" He suddenly turned to the north and narrowed his eyes, inhaling, then strode on.

"My Lord, where are you going?"

Sesshoumaru did not so much as look back at his minion and answered more to himself than anyone or anything else.

"I am going to claim my sword."

~

It was near sunset when we reached the village, partially thanks to the long climb up the hill. Of course, scouts had stopped us, but when they'd found out exactly who we were, they instead insisted on escorting us. This could have been due to, as they explained, the multitude of booby traps meant to keep out unwelcome visitors.

"Oy!" one of our guides shouted as we approached the wall. "It's Ameko and Hiiro! You won't believe who we found!"

"They safe to bring inside?" the man in the watchtower called down.

"Oh, yeah!" Ameko grinned as the giant gate slowly grated open. "You could say they're old allies!"

"Perfect timing, then!" he yelled back. "Sango just got back!"

"Sango?" Miroku echoed innocently.

"Yeah, she's the best of the Taiji-ya, even though she's only seventeen," Hiiro answered cheerfully. "She gets sent out the most often, and she's the daughter of the village chief, so you really don't mess with her. Not if you value your life."

Or your manhood, from the sounds of her, I thought wryly, but I wasn't going to say anything. If anything, it would be a good lesson for him.

We walked inside, only to find the strangest town I'd ever seen.

In one part, there were smithies, ringing with the constant pound of hammers and grating of saws. Weapons and armor of strange materials were in separate piles, though some were in racks, and a few people were examining them and discussing something with another person.

In another, there was a flat, dusty field, at least fifty feet wide and two hundred feet long. Practice dummies were set up in one corner, targets in another, and other training equipment and obstacles littered across. A few young boys and girls were drilling against each other under the watchful eye of a middle-aged woman, while a man and a teenage boy were sparring in another section of the field.

There were three wide fields, covered in different crops, some being tended, with people coming off with baskets of vegetables or grain. A rice paddy was in a far part of the area within the wall, and a pasture with a few horses, some creatures I'd never seen before, sheep, chickens, and a few other animals—regular, normal ones like goats and cows. Three wells were placed near the smithies, between the training grounds and the field, and in front of twenty or thirty small, neat houses. People were everywhere, watching the livestock, forging weapons and food, weaving baskets and clothing, practicing, children playing tag in the open green lawn between the wells, talking with other people; it was as if someone had taken a small city, put everything it could possibly need in a small area, and walled it in.

Something caught my senses—another Shikon shard, somewhere very nearby. I'd been too distracted to notice until now.

A young woman walked towards us, crimson eyes bright. "Hello," she said politely, a small smile on her lips. "My name is Sango of the Taiji-ya—that's old tongue, and it can either mean 'Tower Guardian' or 'Those Who Kill Demons', and as long as we've known it's been the name of our clan."

"I'm Kagome," I said, voice friendly, "and that's Inuyasha, Prince of Tetsui, and that's Miroku, who's a—" Lecher. Nasty freak. Pervert. "—priest."

"If you kill demons, what is that doing still alive?" Inuyasha said dryly, gesturing at the small cat on her shoulder. With a start, I realized it had two tails and generated almost the same feeling as demons did in my mind.

"That's Kirara. She's not a demon, she's a daemon—a creature that lives with us and helps us fight." She patted Kirara's head. "What brings you to our village?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but unfortunately, Miroku beat me to it.

"We came to see you, Lady Sango," he said gallantly, walking up and taking her hand. "For word of your beauty has spread to every kingdom, and I myself had to see if it were true—but you surpass every word that has been spoken of your beauty, and the sight of your face is beyond the rumors!"

Probably because there haven't been any, I thought angrily. What a letch.

"Please allow this poor man to have his one heart's desire—will you bear my child?"

Her face turned about three different shades of red, and she wrenched her hand free, looking bewilderedly at us. "Does he ask this to every woman he meets?!"

"Actually, yes," I said sadly.

"I can't believe—" She broke off, and I saw why with a sinking heart. In the space of the time it had taken for her to wrench her hand free, ask me the question, and me to answer it, his hand had moved…well, south.

I couldn't help wincing at what happened next. After all, that huge boomerang didn't look particularly soft and cushy, but he had it coming to him.

Sango, breathing hard and cheeks flushed with fury, looked ready to whack him over the head some more, but she instead closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and mouthed the numbers from one to ten.

Obviously, it didn't help that much, because just as Miroku started to sit up, she reached ten, opened her eyes, and whacked him with it again.

"I'm really sorry," I said earnestly, wishing I had knocked him out before we'd gotten in the gate. "I'd say that usually he isn't this bad, but…well…he is."

"Would you honestly mind if I killed him?" Sango asked breathlessly.

"No," Inuyasha said darkly. "Have at it."

I sent him a look and said apologetically, "I'd agree with him, but when I get home he has to return alive or my reputation will be even worse."

"Don't you mean better?" muttered Inuyasha.

"What do you mean 'worse'?" Sango asked curiously.

"Long story," I sighed.

"Actually, not that long," Miroku mumbled drowsily. "It all started with her grandfather and her little brother and a jug of—"

This time, I was the one to borrow the boomerang from Sango and whack him over the head with it. He collapsed again, and I realized that if he were unconscious all the time it would actually make things quite a bit easier.

"Sango!" A man strode over, well muscled and with enough battle scars to make anyone with an ounce of sense think twice about taking him on. "What's this I hear about some man molesting you?"

"Dealt with him, Papa," she said firmly, glancing irately at Miroku's prone form out of the corner of her eye. "Don't worry, Kagome here assures me he's always like that and it's not just me."

He frowned, but bowed to me in greeting anyway. "The scouts tell me you come with…gifts," he said slowly. "You could say my daughter has one too."

I blinked, and realized that Sango had a Shikon shard. "Oh—oh my, yes she does."

"Is it true you are the one who called down the Shikon Jewel?" he asked, dark eyes unreadable.

I swallowed, then said honestly, "Yes."

A smile appeared on his face. "Finally, you have re—" he paused, then said, "You have come to us."

"I—I guess I have," I said nervously, wondering if I was supposed to light up and talk in riddles like a good little prophecy child. Also, I was curious about why he'd changed what he was going to say, but I ignored it for the time being.

"Please, come and stay the night with us. You must tell us of your journey, and how you came to be here, and what you plan to do. By the way, do we know who holds the final piece of the jewel?"

I cast my eyes down. "Naraku."

"This is not good," he said after a moment, voice dark with apprehension and thought. "He will assuredly bring down much evil with the power of the Jewel in his grasp… Come, my friends. We have much to discuss."

~

We ate quickly, our appetites vicious after not stopping for any food since breakfast, and both Sango and I glared at Miroku throughout the entire meal, though he seemed not to notice, attempting to make conversation with the oh-so-talkative Inuyasha. I didn't think it was possible for those two to get along, but one never knew.

After dinner, I told Sango's father about our journey so far and of what we hoped to accomplish, and also of what happened if we lost the shard we carried. He listened without saying a word until I finally finished, then said slowly, "I am very surprised that you have not been attacked by any demons so far."

"We did have some trouble with bandits—" I began.

"Until you went all possessed-crazy and kicked the crap out of them," Inuyasha interrupted.

"—but that was the only trouble we've had, other than Naraku," I finished, scowling at him. "And I don't know what happened with that, maybe some spirit they killed wanted to get them back and it used me to do it."

"That in itself is unusual, but likely," the headman said thoughtfully. "But that you have not encountered demons at all is very strange. They occasionally avoid sunlight, but an entire day and no run-ins…Ever since Sango was chosen by the Jewel's shard, we have been beset my at least three demons a night that seek its power."

"We've seen neither hide not hair of any—"

"DEMONS!" someone shrieked from the outside.

We bolted to our feet, Sango seizing her boomerang from the wall and me snatching up my bow and quiver, and rushed outside, only to find at least two dozen monstrous creatures flying overhead. Arrows volleyed up and struck soft underbellies, and cries wrenched through the air from some, but others merely brushed them off.

The four shards began to glow with an eerie dark violet light, and I saw ropes of purple streaming to the wounded demons. Gashes sealed before my eyes, heads rejoining shoulders, limbs melding to the sides.

I grasped mine and yanked as much as I could of the energy back, then slammed a shield around it to keep that from happening again, then pointed at the other three shards and did the same, squinting in concentration. "They were drawing off the power," I explained when they sent me confused looks. "Come on, let's fight these things!" Not waiting for their reactions, I strung an arrow and hastily fired. It soared past most demons, then fell outside the wall, and then there was a bellow of pain and a burst of white-blue light and cries of astonishment. Stringing another arrow, I missed the looks of amazement the others were sending me and sighted a target this time.

The next demon was struck in the belly, blown apart, and both halves slammed into demons nearby, bringing those down. They fell onto the sharpened logs with shrieks of pain. Something swooped down from behind me, and I was pushed out of the way, but claws caught and crushed my quiver, destroying my arrows.

Not good not good not good! What could I do? My friends were going to get hurt, all because the stupid demons wanted the Jewel shards that we'd brought, and it had been my suggestion to come here in the first place—my friends—the demons—they were going to get hurt—

White-hot fury welled up in me, then boiled over. I screamed my anger, ignoring the blazing power erupting from me and ripping through the flesh of countless demons, ignoring the frightened and awed looks, ignoring everything but my anger and the power. It soared, blasting every demon it touched into nonexistence without prejudice, billowing out with searing heat only felt by the monsters it destroyed. Mouths opened and throats let out dying cries that were never heard. Mothers drew their children away from the windows, white-faced and sometimes screaming, though the children never made a sound—they weren't scared. They knew the girl who was fighting the demons wasn't going to hurt them.

Something came down on me, halting my rampage like the sudden cutoff of an orchestra, and a female voice echoed in my ears, sharp. Stop that right now, Kagome! What are you, a three-year-old? Throw a tantrum and you'll only get punished—and with magic, that punishment could very well cost your life!

Dizzy, I stumbled, nearly blind from the transition from brilliant light to dark night. Someone steadied me, then tensed, and I sensed more demons beginning to approach…though one was inside the gate already…A strong one…

The spots cleared from my eyes, and I looked over the gate, only to find someone remarkably similar to Inuyasha standing there, looking slightly bored and perfectly calm. They had long white hair, perfectly straight, a simple but well-made robe on underneath very pricey-looking armor, and what looked like a giant, fluffy worm wrapped around their shoulder.

I was startled to hear a growl behind me, and turned to find Inuyasha supporting me but staring intently at the person fifty feet away. From the looks of it, they weren't on the best of terms.

"Who is that, Inuyasha?" I asked. When he didn't respond, I asked, "Is that your sister?"

He gave me a strange look. "No, that's…not…my sister."

"Well, then, who is that woman."

"That's my brother."

"You mean your sister."

"No, I mean my brother."

"You're telling me that is a male."

He nodded, but his gaze had already returned to the 'brother'. "What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" he snarled.

"I simply am coming for what is mine," he said loftily. "Is that a human I see, Inuyasha? How quaint—yet how fitting that you should associate with the filthy things. After all, you are half one."

I wanted to beat him senseless, but Inuyasha handed me over to Sango and crouched into a fighting stance. "No matter what I am, I'm still better than you, you cross dresser," he yelled.

"Of course you are," Sesshoumaru said condescendingly. "Why don't you try drawing that blade, Inuyasha? You have a slightly larger chance of surviving if you do."

Inuyasha tensed further as I straightened, strength returning swiftly. In fact, the Shikon shard was replacing my drained magic resources too, which I didn't mind. This didn't look like it was going to be an easy fight.

"I don't need a sword to defeat you!"

"Not even our father's fang, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru regarded him from beneath lowered and heavily outlined eyelids.

"Our father's what?!" he demanded, hand grasping the hilt.

"The fang, you halfwit, his fang. Tetsusaiga is the mightiest blade ever to be forged, and that a half-breed like you would wield it…unforgivable. So you do see, dear brother, either you give it to me, or I kill you."

"Not much of a choice, is it?" Sango asked quietly.

"I don't like the sound of this, though," I responded. "If this he-she-thing­ ­­wants the sword, then it's got to be stronger than we know."

Inuyasha drew it, then let out a snort of disbelief. "You think this piece of shit's Father's fang? And you're calling me the halfwit…but if you want it, feel free to have it. Of course, since you want it, you'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead claws."

"Not an issue, brother." Suddenly, he was right in front of Inuyasha, and slashing down, eerie green gas streaming from his claws.

Inuyasha barely dodged it, swinging the sword wildly. It hit Sesshoumaru's side and bounced off with a feeble twang, and he gave it a look of disgust. "Oh yeah, mightiest sword ever forged, you dumb shit."

"You cannot and will not wield the Tetsusaiga properly, fool!" He raked his claws over Inuyasha's hand, then seized the wrist that was holding the sword, the sickly vapors clouding around his fingers again. Inuyasha cried out and tried to pull free, and I made out angry red welts appearing, then bleeding sluggishly. "If it pains you, drop the sword," Sesshoumaru said smoothly.

"Never!" Inuyasha slashed at him with his free hand, and the older demon was surprised into letting go. "You think I'd give up that easy, you bastard?"

"Frankly, yes," his brother answered, looking irritated. "After all, what can one expect from a weakling such as yourself?" Without waiting for an answer, he charged forward and seized Inuyasha's arm again, this time taking the direct route and pulling the blade free.

Just as his hand closed over the hilt, energy cracked up out of it, hissing and snapping at him like an angry cat. Still he held on, gritting his teeth against the pain. "I—will—master Tetsusaiga," he growled. "It—is—mine!"

Then, with an electric roar, the sword let out a blaze of power, and his arm vanished.

Sesshoumaru fell to his knees, gripping the stump of his arm, eyes wide in pain and sweat breaking out on his face. Then his gaze landed on Inuyasha—or more accurately, the shard of the jewel he wore around his neck.

Within seconds Sesshoumaru had seized the shard and ripped the arm off of the corpse of a Taiji-ya, shoved the shard into the stolen arm, and jammed it against his shoulder. The flesh molded to his own, and he picked up the Tetsusaiga again. This time, there was no crackle.

In fact, this time, it turned into an enormous blade, the hilt turning to silvery fur, and he smiled at Inuyasha, who was already shaking from the pain of the Shikon shard's absence. "This is the true form of Tetsusaiga, pitiful halfling," he said smugly, "and I would have let you live, had you merely handed the blade over to me. But now… I'm afraid you must die."

He swung at Inuyasha, who dodged, cursing, and I wondered frantically what I could do.

Then Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and raised the sword, then swept it, not even at Inuyasha.

A force unlike anything I'd ever felt before blasted into existence, tearing up the ground around us, and I drew on the power of the Jewel to form a shield around anything I could still save. It held tenuously, and I struggled to maintain it while my mind was screaming about Inuyasha and if he'd survived the explosion.

Then it was over. Sesshoumaru stood there among the smoke, cool and unruffled as a windless lake, and from him spread out deep gashes in the earth, like the rays of the sun. Inuyasha stood to the side, wide-eyed and sweat rolling down his face, and a quick glance around revealed that considerable damage had been done to the village.

"Inuyasha, get him away from the village!" I yelled. He turned, eyes landing on me, and a strange expression crossed his face, but he nodded.

"How pathetic," Sesshoumaru sighed. "Like I'd spare this village once I'm done with you. Still, I will play your little game." He started walking outside.

My bow was still intact, and I was almost at full strength again. I glanced around frantically for any arrows, saw a few lying on the ground, and snatched them up, heading for the stairs to the watch tower.

"Kagome, where are you going?" Sango demanded from behind me.

"I've got to help him fight Sesshoumaru," I said, turning around. "You and Miroku have to fight the demons—there's more coming—just hang on and don't let anyone get outside the wall!"

By the time I reached the top of the stairs, the battle was back on—if it could be called that. For the most part, it was Inuyasha dodging whatever it was that Sesshoumaru was doing and trying not to collapse from what had to be agony by now after being parted from his shard for so long.

My arms shook as I tried to line up a shot. This one had to make it; my power seemed especially effective against demons, so maybe it'd work like I hoped it would…I willed the tremors to stop and struggled to get in the shot exactly right.

Then my fingers slipped, and the arrow loosed, though I hadn't aimed exactly. Through some stroke of luck, though, Sesshoumaru brought up the blade, and it hit home.

There was a flash, and it shrank into the decrepit blade it had once been. I'd already strung another arrow and was aiming for his arm when he looked up at me, but in my heart I knew there was no way I'd hit him again. Still, I had to distract him from Inuyasha at all costs…

I pulled the cord that held onto the Shikon shard over my neck and clutched it in one hand. "You want a fight, Fluffy?" I shouted down at him. "Bring it on! You think Inuyasha's a weakling for being half-human? What the hell am I supposed to think about some she-male? I can't even tell which gender you are!" Part of me noted I had a bad habit of insulting powerful foes, but it was a very small and ignored part.

Sesshoumaru glanced at the blade and at me, and you could tell he was thinking he'd have to bump me off before I messed up his sword again. He rose in the air, getting closer, and I willed him to get just a little bit further…

Then he was just high enough. I hurled my shard down to Inuyasha and bit back a gasp from the pain that suddenly coursed through every vein, growing sharper by the second. My vision started fading, but I fought unconsciousness and pain, trying to aim at the approaching big, scary demon. If I even vaguely wanted to survive this, it was going to take everything I had.

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Whee, there's chapter five, I think I'll go sleep now…it's 12:48 AM and I have school tomorrow, as well as homework due that I didn't do. Ah, the wonders of having a laptop again… This does mean I will get the next chapter done even sooner, though.