Writing-Angel18: Hola! I'm back. Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been a bit of a bookworm. I was reading Daughter of the Forest (Book 1 of the Sevenwaters Trilogy) that I bought recently. It was soooooo good. I'm waiting to get the next two. But enough about that, here's chapter 8. I hope those of you who've been reading keep reading it. Thanks to the three people who actually reviewed. Love ya. Enjoy this Chapter everyone!

Disclaimer: InuYasha I do not own. This story I do. Nobody shall have any of it unless they have my permission. Gracias!

The Sacred Jewels

Chapter Eight: Promise

            The villagers were very generous with everything at the feast. They all made sure the visitors were well taken care of. Kagome was grateful for the pampering they were receiving. After all the hardships they had endured, this was certainly a blessing. She sighed happily as she pushed aside her now empty plate. Across from her, InuYasha was trying to ignore the look a little boy was giving him. No doubt it was because of the peculiar ears on top of his head.

            Next to her sat a little girl who was busy playing with some sort of clay. She was molding it into something Kagome did not recognize. It looked like a person almost. On her other side was a teenage girl who was talking to Miroku. They were actually discussing, to Kagome's surprise, the village. At least he wasn't trying to get her to have his children.

            She was just about to join the conversation when she noticed Akia walking off on her own into the forest nearby. She got up to follow. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Nayru. Nayru shook her head and smiled.

            "She'll be fine. Sometimes she needs some time alone."

            "But what if a demon comes? What if Talon shows up?"

            "Don't worry. Demons have trouble getting past the protection spell I put around this area. And I doubt Talon will show up any time soon. He'll probably be sorting out what to do now."

            Kagome frowned. She still didn't feel right about letting Akia go out on her own. But Nayru knew her better. She was probably right. Anyways, Akia was a warrior. If trouble arrived, she'd be able to take care of herself. She sat back down. She watched as Nayru knelt next to the little girl who was playing with clay.

            "What are you making Rica?"

            The little girl grinned and lifted up her half finished creation. "It's a spirit."

            "Which one?"

            "The spirit of the earth."

            Nayru examined the clay. "Is it really a woman? I always thought it would be an animal."

            "I think it's a woman, Lady Nayru."

            "Why?"

            "Because that spirit is what protects all living things."

            "So do the other three."

            The girl giggled. "Yes, but this one was the one to provided us with life. It created all things living." She looked at Nayru. "You protect life. I think this spirit is a woman because you are. Both of you are similar."

            Kagome smiled and Nayru. "She's very smart for a child. I have to agree with her."

            Nayru stood up. "Rica is smart for her age. And very talented I might add." She ruffled the child's hair. "I'd love to see the finished product."

            Rica nodded and began working again. "I will show it to you when its finished."

            Kagome noticed Nayru glance off to the side. She looked in that direction. Tall trees stood a short distance from the gathering. Under one sat a familiar demon, Sesshoumaru. She saw Nayru start to walk off in that direction. ' Is she going to talk to him? Why bother? He's just going to ignore her.' She shrugged and turned to InuYasha. She almost burst out with laughter at what she saw. About four small children were trying to reach up to the dog-ears that had captivated them. InuYasha was trying to cover his head, but was finding it hard with the small hands pulling his arms away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Sesshoumaru sat under one of the many trees, which was outside of the forest, with eyes closed. Off to the side was Ah and Un and Jaken. Rin had gone with the others to the gathering. He felt a presence of someone approaching him. His eyes opened and caught sight of Nayru. She now wore a green dress and cloak. Her hair was still loose. He closed his eyes again.

            "Why are here by yourself Sesshoumaru?"

            He remained with eyes closed. "I see no point in joining a group of humans in a silly gathering. I do not wish to converse with any of them."

            "And I suppose you don't want anything to eat or drink because it's all human stuff."

            He opened his eyes, surprised at how calm she was speaking. The woman just grinned and sat down next to him. He glanced at her. She now had her eyes closed. He became puzzled. Couldn't this human female see that he did not wish to speak with her?

            "I remember the last time a demon visited this village. She was the same. I was surprised that she asked us to take care of her daughter. I guess we were a last resort for the protection of her child."

            "You speak of the mother of Akia."

            "Yes." She finally looked at him. "Why do demons hate humans so much?"

            He frowned. "Why are you asking me?"

            "I don't know. I just felt like I should talk to you. Nobody should be by themself. Not even a demon. Plus, " She grinned. "You don't seem too bad."

            Sesshoumaru looked forward. "Shall I demonstrate the contrary?"

            "I don't think you will."

            He glanced at her again and noticed she was still grinning as she looked up at the night sky. "Why do you say that?"

            "You're curious about something. You'll stick around until you find the answers to your questions. But I can't answer those questions."

            "And how do you know what it is I want to know about?"

            "Your sword reacted to me. If I were you, I'd want to know why. I am curious about it myself."

            The demon lord was still calmly looking at the woman. She was still looking at the sky. He became confused again. Normally he wouldn't hold any conversation with a human. He wouldn't normally allow them to speak to him so informally either. Why was this time different? What made him allow this woman to do so? She glanced at him before rising.

            "Will you be going with us tomorrow?"

            "Why should I?"

            "Don't you want answers?"

            "Will I get them?

            "Probably."

            He didn't say anything.

            "Meet us here in the morning." She began walking back to the gathering.

            "Humans are weak. They are pathetic creatures who don't deserve to live in this world."

            Nayru stopped. "Some demons would disagree. Akia grew up here. She learned something different. I'm sure spent some time here, you would see things differently as well."    She began walking again.

            Sesshoumaru watched her go.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Akia finally stopped walking. She had arrived at the spot she was looking for. She placed a hand onto the trunk of the large tree in front of her. She moved her fingers across the carvings on the bark. The carvings read: Lady Nayru, Guardian of all. Akia, Demon protector of the village. Talon, Best warrior that ever lived. She closed her eyes. They were kids when they wrote that. That all seemed so long ago.

            A gentle wind blew. Akia knelt in front of the tree and buried her hands in her face. Too much pain. Too many memories of the past. Two people had always been her friends. One was caring and the other protective. Why? Why did he give in to the jewel?

~*~*~*~*~*~*Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Akia was about six years old. She was skipping down the path that led to the village temple. She was barefoot, a feature she would never lose. She was humming to herself, ignoring the looks the adults were giving her. She never quite understood why they didn't like her. As she neared the temple, someone suddenly jumped in front of her. She yelped as she tripped and fell.

            "Sorry Aki." A boy about nine years old held out a hand to help her up. "Didn't mean to scare you that much."

            Akia glared for a moment until she noticed who it was. "Oh hi Talon."

            The boy smiled broadly. "Watcha up to? If you're going to the temple, I'll go with you."

            "I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself."

            Talon looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Don't doubt that. I just want to hang out. Training got cancelled today so I was bored."

            Akia grinned. "I was just going to see if Nayru wanted to go to the forest to play. You can come too. Ever since you started training I haven't seen you much."

            "Yeah, well nothing we can do about that. The elders made it perfectly clear that I was of "proper age and need to start preparing to be a part of the Guardian's Elite.'"

            They both started walking to the temple. It was spring. In about three years Akia would be required to start her training as well. Or at least that's what she thought. As the two kids finally reached the temple, one of the Elders came out to greet them.

            Akia and Talon bowed. "Good morning Lord Remel," they said together.

            Lord Remel bowed back. "Good morning children." He looked at Akia. "Nayru isn't here right now. I believe she went with Lady Elissa to get herbs." He noticed the young demon's saddened expression. "May I ask you something Akia?"

            "Sir?"

            "I know you have three years left until you are ready to begin your training, but we Elders believe that next year you can start."

            Talon was surprised. "But she's too young still."

            Akia glared at him. "I'm not a baby Talon."

            Lord Remel laughed. "Far from it Akia. We think you are strong enough to start. But to be on the safe side, we want to wait until next year. And don't worry Talon, she'll be in your group if it'll make you feel any better about our decision."

            "If Akia thinks she's ready then I won't stop her."

            Akia smiled at her stubborn friend. "I am ready Talon."

            "Then it's settled. Next year you will join Talon in training."

~*~*~*~*~*~*Ten years later~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            "Alright Akia, I want you to show the new trainees how to block."

            Akia stood up and walked forward. She faced her fellow demonstrator, Garren. He glared at her and cracked his knuckles. He never did lose his hatred for her. Not only was she a demon, but she was also a better fighter than him by a long shot. He grinned and got ready to attack. Akia stood calmly. 'Pathetic Garren.'

            Their former instructor, since they were already warriors by now, motioned them to start. Garren lunged forward to punch Akia, but she saw it coming and caught his fist. He already knew she was going to do that and kicked with his left leg into her gut. She barely noticed this, but was able to move a little and only got some of the force. She glared at him and decided to fight back. She faked a kick. He was about to block it when she suddenly balled up her fist and punched him in the face. Now they both were angry and ready to continue to fight. The instructor stepped in the middle.

            "That's enough you two. I've had enough of this petty hatred you both have for one another."

            Akia was baring her fangs. "It was supposed to be a demonstration. Garren used it as a way to…"

            "Enough Akia. You've been warned about harming a fellow warrior."

            Garren grinned. "That's right Akia. It's not my fault you didn't see that kick in time to block. Guess you're losing your touch."

            "Losing my touch? We aren't supposed to demonstrate blocking kicks to newcomers just yet. Or have you forgotten that?"

            "Akia! I think you've had enough for today. I'll talk to you about your behavior later. Dismissed. You too Garren. We'll discuss your behavior when I'm done with here."

            Akia stormed off. She walked off into the woods by herself, fuming at how unfair some of her comrades were. She plopped down in the grass and lay there staring at the sky. She began to doze off when she heard movement in the grass. She sat up quickly. Talon was walking towards her calmly. He gave her a lopsided grin.

            Akia felt herself blush. She'd been doing that a lot lately around Talon. She looked down at the grass as he sat down next to her. She brought her knees up to her chest. Talon brought one knee up and rested an arm there. Both of them sat there quietly for a few seconds until Talon finally spoke up.

            "So what happened this time?"

            Akia's eyes narrowed at the thought of Garren. "He's such an idiot."

            Talon chuckled. "Oh, Garren again."

            "They let him get away with everything."

            "Not lately. I hear he's being demoted to temple guard. He's been crossing the line too much."

            "Really?"

            "Thought you'd be glad. No more abuse from him."

            "I guess. But he's better at being part of the Guardian's Elite. We need good warriors."

            Talon looked at the young demon. "Warriors have to follow the rules Aki. Break too many and you don't deserve to be one."

            "What about me? Did they say anything about the troublesome demon." She looked at Talon. His eyes were calm, like they usually were when they were alone.

            "Well, there was one thing."

            "Oh really?"

            Talon tried not to grin. "Something about being too stubborn and…"

            She rolled her eyes. "Don't scare me. It thought they were planning to send me off somewhere to die or something."

            "I wouldn't let them do that Aki."

            Akia faced him. She noticed a slight blush form on his cheeks as he looked away. "Really?"

            He turned towards her quickly. "Yes really. You're my best friend Aki. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I care too much about you."

            Akia stared at him.

            "Sorry. I was just a little mad about how Garren took advantage of the demonstration."

            "Sure you were."

            "What do you mean?"

            The corner of Akia's mouth lifted up slightly. "I think it's more than that Talon."

            Talon's eyes narrowed. "How so?"

            "You've always been over protective. I was like your little sister. You were always there when I was getting picked on. I remember how you beat up all those kids who hurt me that one time. But you've been acting strange lately. Not only are you protective, like always, but also you got mad at the gathering last week when that one guy was flirting with me. Now why is that?"

            Talon stood up. He turned his back to her.

            Akia got angry and stood up too. "Hey, I was asking you something."

            The tall nineteen year old faced her. He put a finger on her lips before she could answer. "I was jealous. I couldn't stand seeing any guy acting that way around you."

            Akia frowned. "Never bothered you before."

            He crossed his arms and looked at his feet. He mumbled something.

            "What?"

            "I said…I said my feelings have changed."

            She didn't say anything.

            "I don't see you as just my best friend anymore. Something else is taking over. I still don't understand it, but I thought maybe…maybe the same thing was happening to you. At least, I hope so. I'd feel pretty stupid if I was confessing all this and then you turn out to feel differently."

            Akia looked at him. He was still looking at the ground. Her expression softened. 'I always thought the girl was the one who confessed first.' She placed her hands behind her back and cleared her throat. Talon's brown eyes met her violet ones. She smiled.

            "Is that true? Do you really have feelings for me other than friendship?"

            He nodded slightly. His cheeks turned a little red. He was nervous. Akia was having a little fun watching him wait. She put a finger on her chin and looked up at the sky in thought. She saw his eyes narrow. He knew she was having fun seeing him all nervous. He opened his mouth to speak but she put a hand there to silence him.

            "I'm surprised you told me. I thought I'd be the first to break."

            His eyes widened.

            "Wait." She removed her hand. Her arms hung loosely at her sides. "You shouldn't be afraid that I'd make fun of you for saying it." She looked down. "Because I have the same feelings. I've just been trying to ignore them because…well because I'm demon and you're human. As far as I know, those two don't belong together."

            Talon raised her head with his hand so that she looked at him. "I don't see you as a demon Aki. You've always been just a regular person to me. You never felt like killing off every human in sight. You were never cruel to us. Actually, you're better than most humans are. You're kind; you care about a lot of things. Sure you're stronger than most, but that doesn't mean you're a dangerous killing machine out to destroy us. There's more to you than people can see. They just won't give you the chance that Nayru and I do."

            Akia kept gazing into his eyes. "Know body's said anything like that to me before."

            "Can't imagine why. It's true."

            "Talon…Thank you."

            Talon grinned sheepishly. "Anytime." He dropped his hand and was surprised when Akia hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head. "I'm always here Akia."

            Akia held on tight and closed her eyes, happy to be in his strong embrace. "Promise me."

            "I promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~End Flashback*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Akia felt tears forming in her eyes. "Why Talon? You promised."

            "And that promise hasn't been broken."

            Akia whirled around as she stood. Talon was leaning against a tree not too far from her. He had his arms crossed and was watching her closely. Akia gulped back a sob. Talon pushed himself off the tree and walked towards her. She backed up into the tree. He stopped a couple feet away.

            "You always did walk off by yourself when you were upset."

            "So."

            "And you usually came here to calm down."

            Akia looked into his eyes. They were calm. She couldn't look away. "Why are you here?"

            "I was hoping to find you here. Guess I was right."

            "Going to try to get me to join you again I see."

            His eyes became sad. "And like always you'll refuse."

            Akia frowned in confusion. "So why keep trying?"

            Talon took a step forward. "Because I won't just give up on you Aki. I want you to be by my side. I need you by my side."

            "I can't anymore Talon."

            "Why? Because the village says that I'm evil. All I did was take the Destiny Jewel."

            Anger burned inside her. "And what about all those innocents who you killed? What about all those times you fought me and Nayru?"

            Talon looked away. "It's the jewel. You know it was never purified. Good and evil live inside it."

            "What's that got to do with anything?"

            "The evil inside sometimes gets control of me. I can't always stop it from totally taking over."

            "And now?"

            "I don't have it with me. I left it somewhere safe while I came here."

            Akia gave him another confused look.

            "I never got to explain things to you. I never told you about my plan to take it and why. I didn't want to get you involved."

            "I'm a warrior for the Guardian's Elite. What did you expect?"

            "I know. I was hoping things would turn out differently. I didn't think the jewel would have the effect on me that it did and still does."

            "What do you mean Talon?"

            "First let me explain why I did it." He made sure she was listening. "The jewel needs to be purified in order for it to be safe. We keep it locked away because of that. I wanted to find a way to purify it. That's why I took it. That's why I need the other jewels."

            "But why all that talk about power?"

            "The evil inside Aki. I told you it takes over sometimes. It always tries to take over completely when…"

            "When what?"

            He looked into her violet eyes. He was sad still. "When you are around. It's trying to get me against the one person who can help me remain in control."

            "That's why…that's why you need me? To help you remain in control?"

            "In a way, yes." He saw her eyes sadden. "But the real reason is I miss you Aki. It broke my heart to see you torn up over what happened."

            "Talon…"

            "If you won't come with me, then can you do something?"

            "Depends what."

            "Help me find a way to purify the jewel. I don't mean hand over the jewels; I mean help me find out how to purify it."

            Akia nodded. Her eyes were getting watery again. "What happens if the evil takes over Talon? What do you want me to do?"

            Talon kept his eyes locked with hers. "Stop me. Fight me if you have to. Don't let me get out of control. You know me Aki. You know I wouldn't do anything like I've been doing."

            "When the jewel is finally purified, will you be freed of its control?"

            "I think so. I hope so."

            Akia watched him turn to go. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. "Wait."

            He stopped and slowly turned.

            "Promise me…promise me you'll try to stop the evil. Promise me you'll come back to me after this is all over."

            He walked over to her. "I promise Aki. Things will be back to the way they should be once this is over."

            Akia felt more tears fall. "Then hurry up. End this soon."

            Talon embraced her. Akia finally let the tears fall freely. She didn't want to leave this place. She didn't want to leave his warm, strong embrace. He didn't want to leave either. They just stood there. Neither moved. Neither spoke. Off in the distance, the big feast in the village was ending. Soon everyone would go to sleep. And in the morning, the group would be leaving to visit the four sacred sites to retrieve the jewels. Akia would find a way purify the Destiny jewel. She would end the suffering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

A/N: I'm sorry for not warning you about the nature of this chapter. Lo siento. Although I do hope everyone liked it. Don't worry; next chapter is going to be interesting. As far as I know anyways. Okay, so let me help you out with the situation with Talon. Yes, he did take the jewel so that he can find a way to purify it. But wait! Why him you may be asking. Well, that'll come later. Sure there are plenty of people who could have done it, but it has to be him. I love the ideas that have been pouring out of my mind lately. Good stuff to come. Here's a response to my new reviewer:

RVD: Thank you for taking interest in my story. As soon as school calms down, I'll be updating more (hopefully). My teachers have been handing out assignments like crazy (mostly projects). Hope you keep reading (and reviewing).

So now I am finished. I now must begin my next chapter. I'm gonna try to get as much done as I can. See ya next chapter!