Writing-Angel18: Help! I need name suggestions. One for Aki's sword, and some others for people. My brain is unable to think up anymore due to the fact that I've written so many fan fiction (although I gave up on them and put them in my closet…hmmm, maybe I'll take a look at them now). Anyways, here's chapter seven. READ and REVIEW!! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha. Blah blah blah. You all know the rest.
The Sacred Jewels
Chapter Seven: The Guardian's Village
"So the village wasn't far from the place we found you guys at."
Akia glanced at InuYasha. "You didn't believe us?"
He crossed his arms. "It's not that. Just that usually places we're headed for take a while to reach."
Nayru grinned. She looked ahead of them as they continued walking. The village was about a mile ahead. Homes could be seen now. The temple, not as large as the previous one, was the most visible. 'Wonder who the new Guardian is. Heck, I wonder if they even bothered appointing a new Guardian seeing as how I never had a daughter and the jewels were with me.' Nayru sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sesshoumaru glanced at the woman when he heard her sigh. She was lost in thought. He returned his gaze back to the village. Something about the young woman made him stay. Indeed he was curious about why Tensaiga had reacted, but was something else making him follow?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had finally reached it. The Guardian's village. Akia was surprised at how much had not changed. It looked the same as before. She saw Nayru squint her eyes. Then she noticed movement ahead. She quickly placed her hand on her sword out of reflex. She stopped. A small child came skipping to them. A little girl. Akia felt her jaw drop. She heard Nayru gasp. The others behind them were once again confused.
The little girl stopped a foot away from the two gaping women. She looked at them carefully. Her big, innocent light brown eyes flashed with recognition. Suddenly she was dancing in a little circle happily. She stopped and smiled at them.
"The elders said you would be back soon. They said you were on your way." She clasped her small hands in front of her.
Akia gained control. "Mina?"
The little looked at her funny. She started giggling. "Silly Aki. Have you forgotten me already? You've only been gone a week. Or was it two? Can't remember. All that matters is that you both are back safely."
Nayru and Akia looked at each other confused. One or two weeks?
"Well don't just stand there acting stupid. The elders want to speak to you both. Oh, and they said your friends are welcome to join them as well."
The child named Mina ran forward and grabbed both their hands. She looked at the confused group behind them. She smiled. 'What funny looking people? Is that a dog boy? Oh looky. A fox. How cute? Hey, a little girl. Maybe she'll be my friend…' Her young mind kept going and going.
Akia whispered from the corner of her mouth. "Do you get the strange feeling that something funny is going on?'
Nayru nodded. "Let's go. We'll find out soon enough."
They started walking. The still confused group followed. The little girl was skipping between the two women happily. As they entered the village, Akia and Nayru froze. Two warriors came walking towards them. One was a female with short brown hair; the other was a tall male with long brown hair that reached his midback. Both were smiling as they saw who was coming.
"Aki? We weren't expecting you both to return so soon." The female brought her hands together and bowed to both. "Lady Guardian, glad to see you are safe."
Akia and Nayru bowed as well. Nayru grinned weakly at the woman. "Good to see you are well Yuka. And you too Ryu."
The male bowed. He looked at the little girl. "Mina, I thought the elders said to wait for me or Yuka before you went out to get them. You never know when a bad demon is going to show up."
Mina looked at him innocently with puppy dog eyes. "I'm sorry Zan. I try not to do it again."
Nayru picked the girl up. "Don't worry Zan, Aki and I would have been able to fight." She smiled at Mina. "But next time, wait like the elders told you."
Mina nodded. "Okay Lady Nayru."
Akia turned to the group behind them. "Follow us. We're going to the elders' hut."
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The elders' hut was near the temple. As the group went on their way, many villagers smiled and greeted them. Others briefly smiled and went back to work. Once in a while they saw guards walking around; making sure everything was in order. Children ran up to the strangers that were with Akia and Nayru. They giggled and ran off when Sesshoumaru growled as they reached out to feel his fury tail. Nayru hid a smile at that. The demon lord gave her a look.
Akia waved goodbye to Mina as she ran off to her mother. She looked around. Nothing had changed. Not even the people. They were the same as when she had left. Nobody had aged past a couple weeks. She remembered what Mina had said about them only being gone for a couple weeks at most. How could that be? The jewel had put them to "sleep" for nearly fifty years, as Nayru had stated after examining the temple once more.
They reached the hut. Akia and Nayru stopped in front of the entrance. The others stopped as well. A minute later, a middle-aged woman came out smiling. She bowed to Nayru and Akia. She was of average height and also slim. Her blonde hair was streaked with gray and she had warm brown eyes. Akia and Nayru bowed in return.
"Welcome back Lady Guardian and Lady Akia. The elders are waiting. Please come in. They wish for your friends to come with you." She moved aside the sheet that covered the entrance and motioned them in.
They walked in cautiously. The hut was big. It was only meant to hold meetings, not to house. At the back sat four elderly humans. Two of them were women and two were men. Nayru stopped in front of them and dropped to her knees. She bowed her head with her hands in her lap. Off to her left behind her, Akia did the same. The elders did the same to the two. All of them raised their heads at once.
The elderly female who sat to the far left had blue eyes. She wore a beaded scarf around her head. She spoke first. "Thank the spirits you are well Lady Nayru. We feared something might have happened to you."
The male next to her was bald and had gray eyes. He nodded at the woman's comment. "We are glad to see Lady Akia is likewise in good health."
Nayru remained the way she was. "Thank you for your concerns Lady Elissa and Lord Nemiss. I am glad the spirits have kept you all well."
Akia thanked them as well.
The female to the far right closed her brown eyes. She had her white and gray hair tied in a long braid that was wrapped around the back of her head. Her name was Lady Uri. "Time has passed quickly. Too much time. The Destiny jewel has done this to us all."
Kagome gasped. She quickly covered her mouth. 'How did they know?'
The same female opened her eyes. "Do not be surprised young lady. We know of what has happened."
Akia looked behind her at Kagome. "The elders have the gift of sight. Though they are unable to control it. They see what is needed to be seen." She looked back at the elders. "You wish to speak to us about the incident that occurred at the temple."
The other male nodded. He had short gray hair and green eyes. His name was Lord Remel. "We're not sure why the jewel put the spell on the three of you or what spell it was."
"But we do know that the spell reached this village," continued Lady Elissa.
"That's why nothing has changed. Aki and I noticed everyone was still the same. I was expecting to find the village totally different," said Nayru.
Lord Remel looked at Nayru. "You are distressed child."
The woman looked at her hands. "Yes sir. The jewels are gone."
"But Talon doesn't have them," finished Akia.
Lady Uri smiled at them. "We know this. We also know where you may start searching for them."
Everyone's attention focused on the elders.
Lord Nemiss nodded. "Where would you expect a child who is lost to head for?"
InuYasha understood. "It would go home."
"Yes. The jewels are like lost children."
Nayru's eyes widened. "The jewels went home."
Kagome scratched her head. "Wouldn't that be here?"
"No. They would go back to where they were created."
Lady Elissa smiled and nodded her head once. "They returned to their sacred places."
Nayru bowed her head and stood. "I know where we should go. Thank you elders. I promise to get them back and to make sure they don't disappear again."
The elders bowed their heads.
Akai did too and stood. "I will accompany her."
Lord Remel held a hand up before the group turned to go. "Akia, you and Nayru may leave. We must speak with your friends."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sesshourmaru was sitting on the floor of the hut with InuYasha and his pathetic friends. He was in no way interested in what the elders were going to tell them. He looked at Rin. She looked back at hem and he nodded at her. She understood the look and left, dragging Jaken with her.
"We thank you Lord Sesshoumaru and InuYasha. And the rest of you as well. You helped Nayru and Akia when they awoke." Lady Elissa bowed her head in thanks.
InuYasha shrugged. "We didn't realize anyone was in trouble. We found them in a fight, so we helped. No big deal."
"I did no such thing," Sesshoumaru stated.
Lord Remel looked at him. "If not for you and your sword, they would still be in that temple and Nayru would have died in the fight against Talon."
"I don't know why Tensaiga has done those things."
"Oh, but we do," said Lady Uri.
The demon lord was startled.
"But now is not the time to reveal the reason. Nayru must find this out herself for it deals with her mostly," said Lord Nemiss.
Sesshoumaru sneered. Some help these elders were.
"Excuse me," said Kagome shyly.
"Yes young priestess Kagome?"
"What did you want to speak to us about?"
"Ah yes," said Lord Remel. "We would like to ask you to join Nayru and Akia in search for the jewels."
"However," interrupted Lady Uri. "We ask that only Kagome, InuYasha, and Sesshoumaru be the ones to go with them."
Shippo huffed. "Why can't we go?"
Lady Elissa smiled warmly at the little fox child. "I had a vision just before we awakened. I saw what made me come to my decision. Something is about to take place soon. I'm not sure what, my vision was mostly about the recent events."
"Trust us with this request. In time, the pieces will fall together and you will understand," said Lady Uri.
The woman who had ushered them into the hut walked in.
"Yes?"
The woman bowed. "The villagers have announced that they will be holding a feast tonight in honor of the guests who helped the Lady Guardian and Lady Akia."
Lord Nemiss chuckled. "Always an excuse to have a feast." He looked at the group before him. "You all will be given a place to stay for tonight. In the morning is when Nayru and Akia will leave. They will explain to you their plan later."
With that, the group followed the woman out. Two warriors were waiting for them. They were the ones who would show them to their shelter for the night. All around people were busily preparing for the feast. Children were helping set up various tables and the adults were preparing the food. The smell of the food they were making was wonderful. Kagome smiled. 'Too bad we have to leave so soon.'
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A/N: Grrrr. I'm mad at myself for taking so long with this chapter. First I had a major assignment due at school, then my birthday came (which I woke up sick with the stomach virus), then I was still recuperating, then I misplaced the disk the chapter was on, then I just got lazy. I apologize for rambling. I've had a tough week. I'm just happy that my friends and family still made my birthday enjoyable. Guess what, it was on Mardi Gras! Anyways, I'm in the process of chapter eight right now. And now I would like to respond to my newest reviewer. Sorry it took so long to respond.
Tsume Yamagata: Thanks for reading my story. Glad you like it so far. When I read what you said about elaboration I had just started writing the chapter where I explained some of the stuff. I'm glad you pointed it out to me otherwise I would have just deleted the chapter and started over. I think that's cool about Talon meaning claw and fingernail. And that in Japanese it's Tsume. About your question on the Sess/Aki romance, it was a maybe but not now. Sess is going to be paired with someone else. Originally I was going to have it be an Inu/Akia thing, but I couldn't think of a good way to do it. So Aki is gonna be with someone else (my own new person) and Sess with someone else (again my own new person). You'll probably be able to guess.
I'm rambling again. Well, hope you all enjoyed chapter seven. Please review and let me know what ya think. Till next time…