Mirror Images

Chapter Seven: When Trouble Comes

I haven't even updated the last chapter as I write this, I'm supposed to be cleaning my room, and I've no idea how this chapter is going to play out, so don't ask me why exactly I'm writing this now, I really don't know.

Ah, what the heck…onward anyway! Don't own this, never have, never will.

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My heart pounded in my ears, the only noise besides a strange buzzing. Kikyo…dead… There was no way—she couldn't be—I was supposed to protect her—

Inuyasha was nowhere in sight, but I hardly noticed, fleeing down the hall once more. How could it be? She'd completely turned around, been so much nicer when we'd last spoke; she didn't deserve to be dead! Dammit, I was supposed to protect her and here I was, safe in a well-guarded castle while she'd been forced into slave labor and then killed! I'd failed—I had failed Shirome, I had failed myself, I had failed Inuyasha, I had failed her family…How could I face them, knowing she had died and I'd done nothing to help her? Part of me protested that I'd called down the Shikon Jewel only to help her, but it was shoved roughly aside.

Night air chilled my skin as I burst out into a courtyard and half-ran, half-stumbled over the cobblestone path, pushing open the door on the opposite wall merely by holding out my moon-scarred hand and thrusting my will at it. It opened to darkness and I staggered on through it, half-blinded by tears, my way dimly lit by a strange blue glow.

Then I was in a large stone hall, lined in grim black marble pillars and tiled in red, white, and black stone. At the end was a large block of obsidian, at least seven feet long, three feet high, and five feet wide. Tears rolled down my face, mind slowly numbing, though my feet yet moved forward.

It was not until I stood a few feet from the block that I realized it was a sarcophagus. Still, I was immune to any other feelings than the loss and self-loathing I was saturated in right then, so it didn't matter to me. The sense of what registered automatically as preserving magic hung around it like a shroud, and within laid a man.

He had long white hair in a braid, with a circlet ringing his forehead. His eyes were closed, and he didn't seem old enough to merit the white hair; he was robed in fine velvet and satin, a fierce and yet forgiving, regretful expression on his face. Something about him…something was very familiar…

Then I saw the inscription on the side. King Daisuke of Tetsui. Overthrown only in death; may he rest in peace.

I was looking at Inuyasha's father.

I knelt, and, though when I look back on it I have no idea why, started to speak. "I'm sorry," I wept. "I was supposed to save Kikyo…I know Inuyasha loves her, and it's all my fault she's dead, and now everyone will blame me for it…and I was trying to help, but Sesshoumaru came and we all got hurt…and I tried to kill Naraku but it broke the Jewel and now he has a shard and…everything's all wrong and it's all my fault…I'm sorry, I wish I didn't look like her, I wish I'd never been taken because I wouldn't have screwed everything up, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…It's all my fault!" More and more consequences of Kikyo's death began to flood my mind. "The demons are going to raid the palace because the shields are down…everyone will know it's my fault…we can't defeat Naraku, not without her…Shirome might blame Tetsui and start a war…I can't stop the war…I can't do this! I wasn't meant to be some high-and-mighty sorceress or prophecy child—if I were I wouldn't have been born a peasant! I wouldn't be so testy and shoot my mouth off if I was supposed to be big and important! Kikyo was the one who was supposed to be calling down the Jewel and fighting the real battles, not me!"

If the gods wanted Kikyo to be the Fushiginoko, she would be the Fushiginoko, a stern voice said. I jumped nearly about five feet, gasping, and raised my face to find an older—much older—version of Inuyasha sitting in the coffin, regarding me with a wry gaze. As it happens, they needed someone to give my son what-for and someone who was used to speaking her mind…as well as having the Ancient's blood in your veins, that helps with the magic bit too.

I blinked. First, at complete random, I had found Inuyasha's father's grave. Now I was talking to his spirit.

This was too weird.

"Er…perhaps you could answer a few questions for me?" I asked tentatively, shocked out of my tears and my self-berating for a moment.

He leaned back, a small smile on his lips. Fire away, Kagome.

"Well…First off, how do you know my name?"

I've known you since you were born. Actually, I was waiting outside with your father while you were being born, the poor man. I think he fainted twice and then the doctor refused to let him back in the room until you were safely delivered. In fact, before you ask, yes I did know your parents, and I can't tell you anything about them except that you'll be surprised. And you'll find out soon enough. Miroku knows, but he also cannot tell you.

I swallowed. He'd known my parents… But he couldn't tell me anything about them. Biting back my frustrations, I asked, "Who are the Ancients and what was that thing about my blood?"

The Ancients were the ones that foresaw just about everything that's happened in the past month. He crossed one leg over the other, squinting into the area over my head. They also knew of your birth and the task you would be handed, and the strongest of them at the moment—coincidentally, their queen, Midoriko—ordered the construction of the Fushiginoko Tower for two reasons—one to have an anchor to allow her to guard her country incase of accidents like Naraku and second to have a way to get the Shikon Jewel to you without having to leave it actually in the physical realm. He scratched his head. Always was a bit particular about that. Anyway, the Ancients built the Tower and sired a few children to remain behind, then left. No one knows where; they just left. Their descendants are the sorceresses and mage-priests of this time, though how the degree of their inherited power depends more on their soul and personality than on the actual lineage. You're one of them and Kikyo was another—it tends to run in royal families.

"What happened to Kikyo?" I asked, feeling the tears dry on my face.

King Daisuke flinched, expression growing stormy. Naraku, he muttered eventually. The bastard's been planning something for too long for it to be mere revenge. I can't guess what he's up to quite yet, but it's not going to be pleasant. He undoubtedly wants the Jewel—he always has and he always will until the day he dies. But he staged a raid on Multaro's castle and deliberately had her killed in the fray, though they haven't found her body yet. To her and your credit, they never realized she was the true princess.

My next question came after I'd managed to swallow back enough of my tears to speak coherently. "Why—why can I talk to you?"

You have a gift for returning things to the forms you want them to be in, he said seriously, watching me with the too-familiar golden eyes. Such as Sesshoumaru, and the Tetsusaiga. This is partially why you're the Fushiginoko—by the end of your jolly little adventure, you're going to need that gift. As per me, you weren't controlling yourself very well—something Akiko can help you with—and your power, er, leaked out. A lot. So even though I wasn't able to return to my physical form, my spirit's here for a little while longer. He grinned slightly. Something of a handy trick, that.

This was a question that had been bothering me for a while: "What is it with people calling me the Fushiginoko? I thought that was the Tower."

Actually, the Tower was built strictly for you. 'Fushiginoko' roughly translates into 'Child of Mystery,' and what that means is that you're going to have a lot of fun with Naraku and the Shikon Jewel. That's about all I can tell you. Then he stood, dusting his robes off. Now, if you'll excuse me…

"Where are you going?" My voice cracked pathetically, but I didn't care. He was the only distraction I had had from the guilt and the pain.

You don't need me anymore, King Daisuke said simply. You know it's not your fault; take my word for it. You didn't force Naraku's hand—this has been long since thought out. If anything, you've thrown a wrench in the gears. Kikyo's blood never was and never will be on your hands. There was nothing anyone could have done to prevent it—greater things are stirring, and what has been set in motion will not stop until it is complete. Kikyo did not deserve to die, but neither did many more of those killed in the raid, and Naraku is too powerful a foe to fight alone. Your part in the greater legend is only beginning.

"That's…comforting," I said slowly, tone slightly sarcastic. Parts of it were, parts of it weren't.

You don't need me anymore, he repeated, so I am using what is left of my time to go to the one who does.

~

Inuyasha flew.

He flew past the guards, past the city, and deep into the forest, where he was forced to run. And then he ran faster than he'd ever run before, until he was at least ten miles from the palace.

Then he stopped in a clearing, fell to his knees, and let out a long yell of frustration, anger, sorrow, and loss.

It was all his fault.

He'd heckled Kagome every step of the way. He'd cost them precious time in his foolish attempt to rescue Kikyo on his own and encountered the Dark Priestess. If he had listened to Kagome in the first place, the time-lapse spell wouldn't have set in and they could have gotten her out before it had been too late to. If he'd been stronger, strong enough to defeat Sesshoumaru, they could have at least attempted a rescue with the shards of the Jewel that they had. If he had been stronger; if he had been less stubborn; if he had been less high-minded; if he had been…better.

It was all his fault that Kikyo was dead, and nothing he could ever do would bring her back. Before his eyes, the few people he actually cared about were being picked off one by one, both times by Naraku. Every time, he could have helped them. He could have done something—anything—why was it that he never could do anything right?!

Even now, he was weak, slow, useless, unshed tears threatening to spill over. No true warrior cried; he was just weak, always weak…Anyone could kill him now, he was that vulnerable…and somehow, that didn't seem as important as, perhaps, it should have been.

The true loss hadn't even begun to set in.

He'd loved her. That in itself was undeniable. He'd loved the way her eyes had flashed when he'd goaded her, just before the steel walls slammed down firmly behind them again. He'd loved the way her hair had fallen into her eyes, like black ink running into a distant river. He'd loved to watch her doing magic, repelling any demons with ill intent, raising unbreakable shields against them. No one knew as well as he the strength she'd had in her, masked under the glacial indifference; they hadn't seen the iron determination in her stance and in her eyes whenever something large came about; they hadn't seen her falter under the weight of her enormous burden of responsibility. He had seen her in person briefly in Multaro, and when they'd had to leave her behind, but occasionally he'd stolen his mother's crystal in the three years of separation to steal a look her. He'd felt sympathy when her mother, who had only wanted her daughter to not be hurt by court gossip, had punished her unfairly and given her a verbal lashing. He'd been there with her, if only watching, when she'd taken on the task of protecting the citizens from the demons and nearly killed herself in the casting of the complex tapestry of spells. He'd watched her cry, watched her slowly build walls to block out her pain, watched her close off to the outside world, and every time he had he wanted to go to her, but couldn't. Her mother had unintentionally wrought a princess of metal and ice on the outside, but inside she was someone entirely different, someone he had fallen for.

But now both sides were gone, lost to him forever.

A hand brushed his shoulder, solid for a moment, then passed through it, and he whirled, only to find himself looking up at an all-too-familiar face.

"She's dead," he said hoarsely. "And it's my fault. I failed you and I failed her."

King Daisuke sighed, kneeling in front of his son. You and Kagome are a lot more alike than you know. And it's not your fault.

"She's dead, I'm not, and if I was any better in any way she wouldn't be," Inuyasha retorted, meanwhile thinking he was arguing with a hallucination. "Tell me how that isn't my fault!"

How about if Sesshoumaru hadn't turned out the way he had? his father suggested mildly. A lot of Taiji-ya people wouldn't be dead. How about if, at five years old, you had been there when Aohoshi fell, to keep it from happening in the first place? Oh, right, as a five-year-old, you couldn't do anything about it. Shit happens, Inuyasha, and blaming yourself when it's not your fault really does nothing other than stress out your companions. And I've got to tell you, Kagome's not feeling so peachy herself right now. She did exactly what you're doing, blamed herself, the whole nine yards, and it's just that she's got more common sense than you do that she's not throwing herself off of a balcony. Daisuke paused thoughtfully. She really does look like Kikyo, too. Amazing… But the thing is, with this, the only way to handle it is know that it's not your fault, it's Naraku's, try not to be pissed off as much, and move on with life.

"It's not that easy," Inuyasha said, voice dull.

Never said it was. Pay attention; I didn't raise you to be short-witted, and Kagome didn't bring back my spirit—entirely accidental, of course, but I'm here for a little while and that's what counts—merely so you could piss around and think I'm some hallucination. Which, believe me, boy, I'm not. Kikyo is gone, and the only thing you can do is get over the pain as soon as possible and go kick Naraku's ass before someone else gets put through what you're dealing with right now.

Inuyasha looked at the shadowy face of his father, into the deep eyes identical to his own, though the spirit's were cast deep in concern. It really was his father. Kagome had given him the one thing no one could: the chance to speak with his father one more time.

He gave in, letting everything out, the tears, the anger, the frustrations, the pain, until he felt empty, like the husk of Inuyasha. But it didn't bother him quite so much.

"Thank you," he finally muttered, voice shaking. "Gods…I hate myself."

There we go again with the self-depreciation, his father chided. But I suppose a little humbling isn't so bad. You're a good son, Inuyasha. And you're a good person, don't ever question that. Things are only going to get harder from here out. He began to fade.

"Don't go!" Inuyasha tried to catch his father's sleeve, but his hand passed right through it. "What—what should I do now? What is it about the Tetsusaiga that wouldn't let Sesshoumaru use it? What's going to happen to Kagome—the Taiji-ya acted all weird around her, there was the Tower, and don't tell me nothing will happen because I know it's not true!"

Kagome will be fine, his father said, fading further. It's just her destiny that's happening to her. The Tetsusaiga was meant for you. And you'll know what to do when it happens. King Daisuke was almost entirely gone now.

"NO!" He couldn't stop his father from leaving; he never could, and once again he was helpless.

Inuyasha—I'm proud of you. And then he had vanished entirely.

He was left kneeling in the middle of the clearing, shaking like a leaf in the wind, feeling lost and confused, the night sky reeling over him.

Then his mind locked on one thing, and one thing only. Naraku was the cause of this. He'd brought down Aohoshi, he'd destroyed countless lives, he'd cursed all that he touched in pain and blood. He'd killed Kikyo and his father.

Fury roared up in him, but he held it in check, getting to his feet. The time to rent his clothes and tear at his hair in grieving was over; the wounds of Kikyo's death would stay with him until the day that he himself died but for the moment all he could do was avenge her and so many others.

Inuyasha began the journey home, returning to the palace within twenty minutes. But instead of going straight to his mother or his rooms, instead he went to the Tomb of the King. It was the custom of Tetsui that the last king that had died would lay in the Tomb of the King until another came to replace him; then he was buried in the Royal Mausoleum. At the moment, it was his father who occupied the dark, solemn hall.

When he entered, though, he found someone else there: a pale figure curled beside the obsidian block, still in a nightshirt and robe, fast asleep. The marks of deep sorrow lay in her tearstained cheeks and shadows under her eyes, but she seemed less despaired than he'd expected. Then he remembered she'd brought back his father's soul for those brief moments; he'd probably managed to keep her from too much trauma.

Inuyasha placed a hand on the crystal panel over his father's body and bowed his head, eyes closed in respect, then picked up the still-sleeping Kagome and went to find his mother.

~

The next morning, I awoke to two things. One was the sun shining into my room. The other was Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Lady Akiko, and a few maids jammed into my room.

I blinked, sitting up, then yanked the sheets up to my shoulders to cover my not-so-opaque nightshirt and yelped, "Does the term 'privacy' carry any meaning for you people?! Go get your kicks watching someone else!"

"You were glowing," Sango said slowly. "Dark blue and light blue. And you were saying things."

"Sure I was, you voyeurs," I sniffed. "If you're that bored, go try to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time or something!"

"You were," Lady Akiko said quietly. "You said something about Aohoshi, your mother, fire, and running. And your grandfather."

I looked down at the covers. "When I was four, my family was caught in a house fire, and my mother and father died. I was hit on the head by something, or so my grandfather says, and I can't remember anything before I was four."

"If you're sixteen now, then it was twelve years ago, the year when the barrier went up," Miroku pointed out. "There were a lot of Naraku's demons running around, panicking, and it's probable one of them set it."

I recalled that Miroku was supposed to know something about my parents—was that it, or was there more? But he couldn't tell me, so it was useless to ask. "That's probably it, then," I said decidedly. "Anyone got a plan of attack?"

"What?" Lady Akiko asked, startled.

"Well, Kikyo's…gone," I said with a swallow, "we don't know where Naraku is, and we need his shard of the Jewel if we're a) going to put the Shikon Jewel back together and b) kill the sorry bastard. Anyone got any suggestions?"

Sango said dryly, "I think the first move should be for you to get dressed."

I blushed. "Yes, that could be a good maneuver." When no one moved, I cleared my throat pointedly. "Look, I don't care if you insist upon watching me sleep, but there is no way I'm getting dressed in front of all of you. I'm sure Miroku would be happy enough to do a striptease if you think it's necessary, but do it outside my room, if you don't mind."

Sango snorted and Lady Akiko suppressed a smile, while Miroku appeared to be considering the suggestion. Inuyasha hadn't spoken yet, but he left with Miroku being dragged by the back of the robes along with him, followed by Lady Akiko, Sango, and the maids.

I let out a long sigh and got out of bed, rubbing my eyes.

~

When I walked into the meeting room forty-five minutes later, Lady Akiko was writing something down and Sango was explaining the battle of her village. I sat myself down and glanced at Inuyasha, who was steadily watching Sango.

"…Kagome managed to turn Sesshoumaru back into the smaller form, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru fought some more, Sesshoumaru got the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha kept him from using that big attack-thingy, and then he got run through on Sesshoumaru's hand, which was kinda ugly. But he got the Tetsusaiga back and used the big attack-thingy on Sesshoumaru, which was good, and then he was gone. And we took Kagome and him here after that."

"Clearly, Naraku has enough demons to risk them on a raid against a powerful sorceress and Multaro Castle," Lady Akiko said thoughtfully. "He probably also spurred many of the demons to attack your fortress after leaving Kagome, Inuyasha, and Miroku alone so that they would be taken by surprise and perhaps lose their shards in the various battles."

Miroku frowned. "Sounds like Naraku all over."

"He's most likely trying to buy some time to recover after Kagome wounded him at the Tower," Inuyasha added, still not looking at me. "He was seriously injured, and by distracting us with K-Kikyo's death, he's gathering strength."

He'd looked at everyone but me. And I knew why: he couldn't.

Inuyasha couldn't take the sight of me, because I looked like Kikyo. The knowledge cut deeper than any blade.

If I didn't look so much like Kikyo, none of this would have happened. But if it weren't for Naraku, none of us would be going through this either. Who was truly at blame? He'd destroyed Aohoshi and entrapped their queen, ruined possible hundreds, thousands of lives; I couldn't waste time in self-pity.

"If we can find him, I can kill him," I said quietly. "I will kill him."

All eyes turned to me, a golden pair swiftly averted. "Don't be rash, Kagome," Sango said quickly. "Didn't Midoriko already set your task?"

"Yeah, return the Jewel to the Queen and kill Naraku," I answered. "And at this point, I can't do the first without the second. But we've got to find Naraku if we're going to do anything."

"And that's where the problem lies," Lady Akiko sighed. "I can attempt to scry for his location in the Fountain of Sight as I looked for Princess Kikyo, and perhaps my crystal, but he most likely has shielded his location in case I try. In that case, my magic is not strong enough to find him."

"I can try," I said doubtfully, "but I don't know how to scry. In fact, I really have just been making up things as I go along—I never knew I had any power until a few weeks ago and I've got no training."

Lady Akiko pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then said, "I could at least attempt to teach you the basics, and scrying itself isn't difficult at all. But his shields may be beyond even your power." Sango coughed, and she said, "Or not."

"Either way, Naraku is obviously trying to kill us," Inuyasha said, speaking for only the second time. "Trouble will come to us, or we will come to it."

Miroku somberly nodded agreement. "If we can find him, though, it may help."

"Then Kagome, we should begin teaching you the fundamentals of magic," Lady Akiko said, standing.

"Oh—right." I hastily stood, and to my embarrassment the chair fell over. Blushing, I set it upright.

"If you'll excuse us, we should be finished by dinner time." Lady Akiko bowed, as did I, and she led me out of the room and down the hall. We passed marble statues, rich hangings, and windows showing courtyards and halls, and for the first time I realized how large the Tetsui Palace really was. Only servants and guards passed us: we were in the Royal Quarters and all nobles were forbidden here.

Finally we reached a door that was hardly noticeable, painted the same shade as the walls and cut in a shape that was neither unusual nor obtrusive. If Inuyasha's mother hadn't stopped there, I would have continued right past it.

She pulled a ring of keys from her robes. The one she chose was slid into the near-invisible lock and there was a flash of royal blue and a click, the door obediently sliding open.

Inside was a table, a few chairs, a basin, a fireplace, several cupboards, and shelves upon shelves of books, jars, and bottles, some filled with liquids, some with powder, others with things I didn't recognize. The books had titles like The Encyclopedia of Foreseeing Herbs and The Advanced Guide To Summoning Elementals, which could be either good or bad. All manners of crystals were displayed in cases along the wall, a wide mirror hung above a rack of what looked like ceremonial daggers and chains. A small mage-powered clock ticked cheerfully beside a miniature of the Fushiginoko Tower, every bit as formidable as its counterpart. A skull sat on a shelf, though I'd no idea what species its owner had been. To top it off, a vase of flowers added a homey touch from their perch in the center of the table. I leaned over to sniff one of them, and Lady Akiko caught my arm. "They bite."

"Oh," was all that I could say.

~

An hour later, I'd learned to keep my power from leaking out and doing things like hauling spirits back from the Afterlife, which was always a good thing. Because I'd already taught myself some semblance of control and how to use the magic in its most rudimentary form, it was also easier to learn. She'd explained that the herbs and crystals and whatnot were for either the more advanced Higher Magics or increasing the strength of a spell. I wouldn't need any today.

By the end of the afternoon, I could cast a barrier, work a simple healing spell, summon any of the seven elements, invest power in objects to store for later, make minor objects float, and had just mastered basic scrying. The Base Magics were used by those with smaller amounts of the Ancient's blood or by beginners like me; the Higher Magics would be the next degree of the Base Magics. I was learning this much quicker than normal people, though neither of us could tell why. Lady Akiko also taught me a way to learn spells faster, though it wasn't necessarily a shortcut because it would take quite a bit out of the user. By binding a text in string that also connected to the user, overnight the entire tome's contents could be memorized, but the consequence was that it took at least half the user's power and didn't provide actual experience using it. I opted not to risk that one for a while, or at least until a time when I could afford to drain myself halfway and when we had the time for me to practice everything I'd learned.

Lady Akiko called for a break after I'd finished learning the basic scrying, and when I looked at her questioningly, she gestured to the clock. "It's dinner time," she said wryly. "If we're going to try to find Naraku, you're going to want to eat before you use the Fountain of Sight."

"That makes sense," I said sheepishly. "I'm getting kind of tired too."

"Any other would be completely drained," she assured me. "Shall we?"

I followed her outside, then voiced a question that had been in the back of my mind for a while. "Your Highness—"

"Akiko," she interceded.

"—why treat me so…politely?" I asked. "I'm just a commoner who can throw around a few sparks and who can't keep from mouthing off. I mean, why house me in the Royal Quarters, go to the trouble of teaching me magic, and everything when I haven't done anything for you?"

She glanced at me, slightly surprised. "First of all, because peasant or no, you are still a person and every person deserves as much respect as they have earned. You, Kagome, were forced into a life-threatening situation and nearly executed for the sake of someone to whom you owed nothing. You told off my son when he was being intolerably rude, which no one has had the nerves to do since his father died, and yet you saved his life without a second thought. You risked life-long slavery to help a princess who had done nothing for you. You traveled to an unknown place and learned how to fight in order to retrieve something you had no intention of using for yourself, also putting your life in jeopardy again. You fought the most powerful demon lord known and nearly destroyed him without a trace of fear. You fought countless demons in the Taiji-ya village, put yourself through near-torture so my son would be relieved of pain, sacrificed your own safety to keep Tetsusaiga's Cutting Wind from slaughtering the rest of the village and demolishing their town, and repeatedly forced a full dog-demon of the Royal House of Tetsui back, whether it was by returning the Tetsusaiga to normal or him himself. You pulled yourself back together after Kikyo's death. And none of your actions have been done in self-interest. That, Kagome, merits more respect than it is possible for me to give." She shrugged. "And, as always, there is more to you than any of us our blessed enough to know. I do not consider it wise to mistreat the Fushiginoko."

I was, for once, utterly speechless. The way Lady Akiko was saying it made me look like a hero, but all I was doing was what seemed like the right thing. I was a commoner, and Shirome had plenty of those to spare, but there had been only one Princess Kikyo. And I wasn't going to sit around and watch Inuyasha be gutted in front of my eyes, so what? It was what anyone else would've done for me. "I don't see—I'm no knight in shining armor, Your—Lady Akiko," I managed after a moment. That had been Kikyo's job: to be the Shining One or Savior of the World or whatever. People like me weren't meant to be heroes, and frankly, I didn't want to be. Heroes had a sad tendency to be possessed by evil and slay their families, or to be exiled, or to have their loved ones die horrible, painful deaths. As if I want that for my family, I thought dryly.

A small smile emerged, and she looked straight ahead as we walked down the corridor. "Like it or not, Kagome, your destiny is already playing out. The shining armor doesn't make the knight, and the bloodlines don't make the prophecy child. It's what you do with what you've got, and how you do it. That's what counts." Abruptly, she changed the subject. "What do you think of my son?"

I kept myself from flinching and said with a straight face, "Honest opinion or diplomatic?"

At that, Lady Akiko laughed, the sound echoing up and down the hallway. "If you need to ask that question, perhaps I should be worried," she said mirthfully. "Honest, please."

I turned and set my palms on a windowsill, thinking out my response for once as I studied the clouds beyond the glass. "He's…guarded," I said finally. "I know he's not nearly as tough as he makes himself out to be, but if you even mention one of his weak spots he clams up. I know he loved Kikyo, and I don't blame him, but he can't look at me anymore and that bothers me." I blinked. "No, it hurts me. Because I care about him, and I don't want him to be hurt, but I can't do anything about having the face of a dead woman. He tries to be strong, and he hates any weaknesses of his, even though everyone has a weakness. He's afraid of losing people like his father, so he pushes them away—I could tell he didn't want to get hurt a long time ago, but I didn't know why until the day I called down the Jewel. He won't let himself get close to someone if he can help it, but him and Kikyo…This was the worst thing that could happen to him, her death—another reason to blame his weaknesses, another reason to keep from getting attached to anyone. It's part of why I want to kill Naraku—I don't want that bastard hurting Inuyasha anymore. I…don't know why."

Unbeknownst to me, Lady Akiko was watching me with the barest hint of a triumphant grin, but when I turned to look at her it was turned instantly blank. "And how long have you been traveling with him?" she asked mildly.

I thought for a moment, tallying up the days. "This is the fifteenth day since we met," I said.

Lady Akiko shook her head, a hint of a grin appearing and vanishing. "You're much more perceptive than most girls your age."

"I hope that's a good thing," I said darkly.

"Oh, it is," she said cheerfully. "It is." We reached the meeting room, which I assumed was doubling as the dining room for now, and I followed her inside. Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha were in there, talking about the Tetsusaiga. Sango waved at us and Miroku rose with a greeting and a smile, but Inuyasha looked away and I bit my lip. Seeing my face, Sango followed my gaze to the prince and frowned, but didn't comment.

"How goes the training?" Miroku asked cordially.

"She's picked up on it faster than anyone I've ever taught before," Lady Akiko replied with a smile as I blushed, embarrassed. "We're going to scry for Naraku's location in a little while."

"Scrying already?" His voice was incredulous. "By the gods, Kagome!"

"What?" I shrugged. "It's not like it's hard or anything."

He rubbed his forehead in response, just as servants came in with the meal. I took the seat next to Sango and across from Miroku, mainly so Inuyasha wouldn't have to look at me. Before we could begin, though, Lady Akiko said, "I would like to test something. Would someone mind giving their Shikon shard to me?" After a moment, Sango nodded and handed hers to Lady Akiko, sweat breaking out on her face. Inuyasha's mother glanced at the shard and at Sango, then hastily handed it back, and stared at the tabletop, deep in thought. After a pause, she said, "It is as I thought."

"What were you trying to find out?" Sango inquired, slipping her shard back into the small pouch she wore around her neck.

"I was wondering why it was painful for any of you to be separated from your shard," she said thoughtfully, "and now I know why. The shard pulls on your life force, as if it has become part of your body, like a finger or an eye. To remove it from you is like having that part of you cut off, and you literally bleed life force, however gruesome that sounds. Because Inuyasha's was infused with his life force, though, when Sesshoumaru used it, it fooled the Tetsusaiga into thinking he was Inuyasha. My guess is, depending on the circumstances and the person, if you were permanently separated from your shard it would take anywhere from three days to one week to live, unaided. If someone could transfuse live force, it might or might not prolong death. I'm assuming, though, that once the Jewel is completed again, this problem will go away."

"One can only hope," Miroku said. There was silence as we all wondered how everything was going to play out, particularly if we couldn't survive without the Jewel shards even after it was formed. What were we going to do then, all walk around holding onto it? I suppressed a morose sigh and would have suggested we eat dinner when I was…well, distracted.

My senses had picked up on something small, but I'd figured it was a lesser demon or something. Now it drew closer, and the lights in the room dimmed.

There was a pop, and a silly-looking blue blob appeared, hovering over the table. "Give…me the shards…of the Jewel," it said in what was supposed to be a threatening voice but didn't really do it.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha flicked it with a finger.

There was a yelp, and it turned into a small boy with a large, fluffy tail. He scowled at Inuyasha, but his eyes quickly turned to me and the shard around my neck. "That's huge," he said slowly.

Then, quick as a fox, he'd seized it and run out the door. A shudder ran down my back and the pain began to build up.

"That little brat!" Inuyasha knocked over his chair in his haste to follow him, and I staggered to my feet. Cursing came from the hall, and he called back to us, "The damn kitsune's gone!"

Lady Akiko ordered one of the servants to get her seeing crystal and stood, closing her eyes. "He's hiding himself, but he's still in the palace," she said. "I'll put barriers up, and he won't be able to get out."

"We have to find him, and fast," Sango said, watching my graying face with growing worry.

"Let's split up," I suggested. "We can cover more of the castle that way, and if we don't find him before Lady Akiko does, she can tell us and we can go get him."

"Sounds fine, as long as you stay here," Miroku said dryly.

"It's my shard," I argued. "If anyone can sense it, I can."

"But if you pass out in the middle of the hallway, no one will know," Sango said pointedly.

"Sure they will. Sooner or later, a servant will find me." I walked out of the meeting room, trying to keep myself from stumbling. "I'll be fine, anyway. You know me—I don't do anything stupid."

This was met by coughs from Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha. I sighed and set off down the hallway, trying to sense for the Jewel.

Fifteen minutes later, I was barely walking, but the shard was close. The last person I'd passed had been a way back and the wing I was in seemed almost abandoned. Turning a corner, I found myself in a roofed courtyard, a bedraggled garden lying beyond on pillared wall. On the edge of a long-dry fountain, the little boy sat, staring thoughtfully at the shard in his hands.

"Can I have that back, please?" I asked, voice a bit weak. He jumped in surprise, but before he could vanish, I added, "It hurts to not have it…and I'll die if I don't get it back…so…yeah." The darkness overcame me, and I pitched forward onto the flagstones.

When I woke up, the pain had vanished, and the little boy was sitting on my stomach, watching me with electric blue eyes. "What's your name?" he asked curiously, scrambling off.

"Kagome." I sat up with a wheeze. "What's yours? And what did you want my shard for?"

"My name is Shippô, and I needed it." He crossed his arms.

"You needed it?" I also crossed my arms. "Why? And do your parents know where you are?"

His chin shook for a moment, but he swallowed and said, "Ma and Pa are dead. I…I'm not strong enough to avenge them, an' everyone says the Shikon Jewel's real powerful, so I thought that if I had a shard I could use it to draw out their killers and then get them."

I raised my eyebrows. "Couldn't you just ask for help?"

"I did." He looked down, unhappy, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "The guards laughed at me."

I reminded myself to bring that up with Inuyasha—no, he was still not looking at me, better to make it Lady Akiko—and said, "Well, my friends and I can help you with that."

"You can?" he sniffed. "But the Thunder Brothers are powerful demons."

"And Inuyasha's a powerful half-demon, Miroku and I are powerful mages, and Sango's a powerful warrior," I said cheerfully. "I think we can take them."

Still, Shippô looked doubtful. "They killed both of my parents, and they were really strong."

"I wouldn't worry. Come on, let's go back." I stood up and so did he, but before we could head back, there was a booming thud behind us.
I whirled around to find an ugly, vaguely humanoid demon behind us. He was bald as an egg except for three short hairs on the top of his head and a small braid at the back. His eyes were slanted, the pupils nothing more than black slits; he was decked out in old-fashioned armor with a strange pelt wrapped around his waist.

"I thought I sensed a fragment of the Shikon Jewel," he said, voice like a roll of thunder.

"That's Manten! That's one of the Thunder Brothers!" Shippô hid behind my legs.

"I don't care what you sensed, you're not getting anything from me," I shot out, shifting to protect Shippô.

"You underestimate me, little girl." He grinned, showing long, sharp teeth. "I eat little morsels like you for lunch."

"No," I said, summoning power to my palms, "trust me, you don't." I let power fly in the form of three dagger-like lights. One struck his armor, cracking it, another piercing his snout, and the third grazed his head.

It was the third one that screwed me over.

Apparently, he had a deep attachment to those three hairs. Also apparently, the third dagger had neatly sheared two of them off.

The next thing I knew, lightning was swelling up in his mouth. Shippô tugged at my leg, eyes wide and frantic. "Come on! This is the attack that killed my Pa!"

I didn't ask questions; instead, I turned and ran. I only made it to the wall when there was a huge explosion behind me, though, and I was thrown forward. Everything went black.

~

Shippô was sent flying head-over-tail into the hallway, but he scrambled to his feet as soon as he could and darted behind a pillar, peering out with wide blue eyes.

Manten lumbered over, eyes furious, but he stopped at the sight of Kagome. Cold dread gripped his heart, and to his horror, the larger demon grinned and picked the girl up. A dark cloud bloomed around his feet, surrounding them, and a moment later it faded, taking both of them with it.

Kagome had tried to protect him, and he'd turned tail and hid. Now Manten had her, and he was going to eat her probably.

What could he do?

She'd said her friends were strong, but would they be strong enough to fight the Thunder Brothers? Standing around wasn't going to answer that question…

Shippô took a deep breath, then skittered down the hallway. If he couldn't get help soon, Kagome was going to be on the main menu…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ooh, that does sound like fun. Death, pain, blood—whee! ::snifflesnifflesnortsnorthackhack:: Curse this cold…I've had a headache, sore throat, and sniffles for two days now, but at least I got to miss school today and get the last few pages done. It's taking longer than normal to write chapters because at the same time I'm a) drawing a comic book and b) trying to both rewrite the first two chapters of Mirror Images so they're in my voice, and simultaneously overhaul all previous chapters of this story so it doesn't seem like a total IY rip-off. So far, I definitely like the way it's coming out—in the original version, the Kagome figure is named Aidan and there are definite differences between Kagome and Aidan. Aidan's major fault is that she has no trouble expressing her opinions. With great frequency. (This translates into 'she mouths off to anyone and everyone, royalty included'.) Miroku's figure (Keir) doesn't feel up all the women he comes across, but he is a bit…okay, a lot of a flirt. But it's the thought that counts. I won't be able to post the original version until after this is finished, and even then I'll have to take this version down, or else it'll be a violation of Fanfiction/FictionPress.net policy. I don't know when the next chapter will be coming out, but maybe sometime soon if I'm lucky. Adiosity for now!