~No POV~

Kikyou walked farther inside the hut after the two had left, and outside through a small opening in the back. There, in the closed off area, was a tree, but it had no branches. It was more like a log, stuck into the ground. At the base, tied by rope, was another woman. Kikyou smirked.

"Are you ready to hand over the shard readily?" Kikyou asked.

The woman stuttered and told Kikyou to do something that needs not be written down. Kikyou laughed.

"I won't give up, but I don't want to have to use force upon such petty creatures such as yourself." Kikyou said.

"G.go to ..hell!" The words stumbled over the woman's lips.

"Been there, and being one of those whores who traveled with Inuyasha, I would have suspected you knew that. But then again, what you know and don't know tells me a great deal." Kikyou said.

Then Kikyou stepped forward, lifting up the woman's chin none too lightly. She looked for a necklace at the girl's throat. Sure enough, a long thin chain could be seen. Kikyou took the chain up, and glinting at the end like forbidden treasure was a part of the Shikon no Tama.

"Now, I wonder why this piece is so big. Why, exterminator, do you not have the whole Shikon no Tama?" Kikyou's curiosity overrode her desire to be cruel.

"I.I woul.wouldn't be.likely.. to tell.t-the dead!" She said.

"Very well. Have it your way." Kikyou said.

Grasping the chain, Kikyou gave it a tug, and it came loose off the girl's neck. On the end, was the Shikon shard, fairly large in comparison to some of the shards she'd seen. Then, Kikyou summoned her soul-catchers.

"Take the woman to her village. Leave her with the priest there." Kikyou ordered them.

Kikyou untied the woman and the soul-catchers, only four of them, took her away and over the high lands. She flew in the clouds in the clutches of monsters, the pains of her injuries coming to her even more now. Upon a hill, there was a small village, around it a wooden wall that seemed to have stood quite a while. The soul-catchers swooped into the town and the villagers were instantly frightened. They apparently found the priest's hut, and dropped her in front of it roughly, where she fainted.

~Miroku's POV~

I walked the beautiful path near a waterfall I'd taken so many days before. I had the distinct feeling something was going to happen today. Not decided whether or not it was good or bad, I'd finally succumbed to wearing the cursed jewel shard. I still remember that fateful day we'd beaten Naraku, and Kagome, deciding that in order for Naraku to never surface from Hell ever again we were to split the jewel shards among us.

%! FlashbacK !%

Kagome walked toward them, the complete Shikon no Tama in her hands. It was radiating the usual crude pinkish tinge. Kagome shuddered, and Inuyasha stepped towards her, putting his arm around her.

"I strongly believe that in order for Naraku to never come back from Hell, we must split the Shikon once more." She spoke. Her voice shook slightly.

"But Kagome, if we do that we'd have to recover them all again." Sango said.

"If I do it, yes. But if someone else does it, no." Kagome said. This confused me.

"Kagome, how will the jewel in pieces stop Naraku coming back?" I asked.

"If the jewel is broken, purified, and in the hands of pure holders, it won't be tainted in the least." Inuyasha's brother spoke. I had almost forgotten he was there.

"We'll split it between those who are able to give a helping hand in a defeat once again, shall Naraku rise despite precaution." Kagome said.

"I understand." Inuyasha said.

None of us quite understood exactly why he said that at that moment, and paid no heed.

"So who must break the jewel?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Someone who is pure without being miko." Kagome said.

"So anyone here?" I asked.

"No, I didn't quite say that. Someone pure doesn't necessarily mean any of us. We have our dark desires and intentions just as well as any normal hu- err.. Individual walking this earth." Kagome said.

"Childlike innocence." That was Sango. Now I understood it.

"Shippou.and that girl with Sesshoumaru." I breathed. Kagome nodded.

"Rin." Sesshoumaru said.

I thought he was saying this to correct me, when in fact he was calling the little girl none too far away. Inuyasha beckoned to a frightened kitsune. Sango took Shippou's hand, and went over to Rin, took her hand too, and went over to Kagome. The rest of us crowded around.

"Rin, this is Shippou. He's about your age." Sango said.

"Hi Shippou!" "Hey Rin!" They both said at the same time. Rin blushed and Shippou laughed.

Kagome knelt down next to them. "I want you two to listen to me very carefully. This is the Shikon no Tama. We need to break it, but since it's so special, and you are too, we want you two to break it together."

"You mean we can break it and not get in trouble?" Shippou asked.

"Yes."

"Yay! This will be fun." Rin giggled.

"When I say three, I want you two to stomp on it, ok?" Kagome instructed, putting the jewel in front of them, "You need to hold hands too."

Shippou made a face but let Rin grab his hand tightly in hers.

"One.. two.THREE!" Kagome said.

There was a crunching sound of glass on rock, and when the little ones pulled their feet away, the jewel was mere shards. Kagome quickly bent down and the rest of us backed up a little.

"What are we supposed to do with it now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Don't ask questions." Kagome said.

"But-" Inuyasha started.

"Don't." Kagome said.

Getting up from the ground, She started at the toddlers who were still holding hands. Shippou, who noticed this, let go pretty quickly. I grinned, someday he wouldn't mind too much. Kagome handed Shippou a shard. I gasped. What the hell did she think she was doing?!

"Kagome!" I said sternly.

"If Naraku ever did come back, they'd be older then, and completely able to help." She said.

"Rin doesn't use weapons. She is not violent." Sesshoumaru said.

"She'll have to when she's older." Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru looked as if he wanted to make a reply to this, but decided now was not the time to fight. I was relieved. When Kagome was done handing the shards out, there were seven. The smallest pieces fused with the big ones and made one shard for everyone.

"I'll make a note that there are seven shards only. Seven is all. There should also be something in our memories about this. There are seven shards, seven people completely able to defeat Naraku should he try." Kagome said.

I made mental notes for myself. Shards were given to me, Sango, Inuyasha, Kagome herself, Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Shippou. I felt as if maybe we were being a little.crude in our plans.

Without another word, the two groups of people beside me bore to their respective sides. Rin went to Sesshoumaru, and I noticed with a feeling of definite happiness that Jaken had not been entrusted with a shard. The ugly toad looking about to explode with anger. %! End of Flashback !%

Walking back to the village I now called home, I felt sadness. The group of friends I considered family was no longer there. I couldn't go back to Kaede's village by Kagome's well and see them waiting for me, happy like it used to be. Inuyasha had disappeared as had Sango, Shippou had left somewhere to the South, even Kirara was gone, and Kagome. Kagome had gone down the well a week after Naraku's defeat and I hadn't seen her since.
My thoughts were slightly interrupted when a scared villager raced up to me, his shirt falling off his shoulders and an attempt to catch giant heaving breaths back. I stopped in front of him and waited patiently for speech.

"Houshi-sama, there has been youkai about!" He gasped.

"Where are they, what did they look like?" I asked immediately.

"They were giant white snakes! They had a young woman with them!"

My eyes flashed recognition. The only white snakes I knew of were the soul-catches Kikyou used. I wondered if that meant that Inuyasha had found her and put her soul to rest. The fact that she might have been with them did not escape me.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"By your hut!" He said.

I did not wait to hear more, I rushed off immediately. If Kikyou was here, surely Kagome was too? I stopped as I came in sight of her. She was so familiar from here.. Wait.could it be?