Authoress' Muse's notes: *Taylor appears with a grin, but holding her finger over her lips* Hi all! Shh. *points to the lump under the blanket at the computer* The Tashana is sleepin.' So I thought… Well actually I'm just puttin' this up for her so she don't get any further behind. Poor thing, she ain't been sleepin.' 'Course that's my fault ^_~ But ya'll better appreciate it, cause this is where the story gets kicked in the ass and cranks it up 'bout 100x volume…. *authoress stirs at the computer*
Taylor: *pats the blanket* Go back to sleep. You're still sick.
Princess: *looks at story and opens her mouth terrified*
*Taylor pounces on her before she can give anything away* Hush you. Go make soup for Tashana.
Princess: But… but…
Taylor: Hey. I got this.
Princess: OOOkay… WARNING!! This is…. *Taylor throws her into the kitchen*
Taylor: There now that's better. *looks over notes scratched out on paper* Okay. She wanted to warn you guys that this was the part of the story where it really got moving and the major twist comes in… so I guess… yeah… You've been warned now. So no crying! ßHee hee I love that quote. So enjoy this part of story.
*Evil Grin* Taylor….. *Snores* T.A.
"I can never show weakness. If I did a demon might get the better of me." – Kikyou "Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyou"
Part 6
Michi hit the ground so hard that Tanaya's doll fell from her grip. She uttered a cry of panic and stretched to reach her child's favorite toy. The sun had set long ago and although frantic Michi knew she could no longer navigate her way through the woods. She cradled the doll to her chest and forced herself up on her trembling legs. The ribbon in the doll's hair was still glowing bright red with the residual energy of the demon that had taken Tanaya from the temple grounds.
Michi wandered a bit father stumbling every so often over a branch or rock, before finally finding a small glade of trees. She pulled her knife from her pocket and carved ward-marks on each of the trees. She collapsed inside the protective circle and started to cry.
For the first time since Tanaya had been born, she would not be within her mother's protective care for the night. Michi wept, praying desperately that Tanaya would be able to escape the demon or somehow that help might find her.
***
She had to keep running. She couldn't let the not-Naraku catch her again.
Tanaya bit her tongue to keep herself from crying out as a stealer floated towards her. She scrambled into a fallen tree and pressed her hands against the side, while carefully keeping out of sight. She tried so hard to remember all the words of the hiding incantation that she'd learned so the stealers wouldn't be able to find her.
'I'm a tree. I'm a tree.' She thought desperately. There was more than one stealer now and they were getting closer to her hiding place.
The pounding in her ears was getting quieter and she could feel her eyelids getting heavier.
She tried to focus as she heard footsteps approaching the tree. 'I'm a tree. I'm a tree.' She knew the not-Naraku was still a demon and that he wouldn't be able to find her if she kept up her focus. The soft footsteps were coming even closer. Tanaya tried to sink down lower in the tree. She wanted her mommy.
She wondered if she could hit the thing with the bright light that she somehow used on the not-Naraku. She narrowed her eyebrows and glared at her hands willing them to get warm like they had before.
Suddenly a woman's face appeared in the entrance of her hiding place. Tanaya's eyes opened wide as she sensed the dueling spirits within the woman's serene face. She put up her hands and felt another wave of heat moved through her and then all was dark.
***
" KAGOME!!" Shippou's shrill cry came thundering through the woods.
Kagome huffed and re-zipped her skirt; couldn't she even go to the bathroom in peace? " SIT!" She called out angrily.
" WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!!!!" Inuyasha thundered from a different side than Shippou's cry had come from.
Kagome blushed heavily and hollered a hasty apology. " Sorry Inuyasha!"
The hanyou continued to mutter about the stupid necklace, the stupid spell and the stupid girl who used it without even knowing anything.
" KAGOME!!" Shippou cried again.
" What is it, Shippou?" Kagome started walking in the direction that she heard Shippou call from. She walked into the clearing and found Shippou trying to pass through a barrier around a group of trees. " Shippou, what are you doing?"
" Michi's in there." Shippou explained.
" What?!?" Kagome ran through the barrier and knelt by the woman's side. Michi was still sleeping, but she looked tormented as clutched Tanaya's doll. "Michi, Michi, wake up." Kagome nudged her roughly, trying to get the woman to wake up.
" What's going on?" Inuyasha questioned as he came into view.
" There's a barrier around the trees." Shippou informed Inuyasha, before he could get close enough to touch it.
Inuyasha sniffed the air slightly. " So Michi's there but not the brat?"
" Tanaya's not a brat!" Shippou growled at the hanyou.
Michi struggled to open her eyes, and cried out when she saw a familiar face. "Kagome?"
" Yeah, it's me. What happened to you? Why did you leave the temple?" Kagome asked helping Michi sit up.
" Tanaya. Something took her." Michi pointed to the ribbon on the doll. " Some kind of demon."
" My spell worked." Shippou recognized the glowing effect immediately.
Michi nodded and let Kagome help her up, " Is Miroku with you?"
" Naw, he took off without us trying to get to you." Inuyasha huffed. " Lot a good it did."
" Inuyasha." Kagome scolded, trying to keep Michi on her feet.
As soon as they got out of the barrier, Inuyasha took Kagome's place holding Michi up. He looked down at her ashen-gray face. He knew that look all too well. That was the look his mother would have if he didn't come quickly enough when she called for him or the look that the people from Kikyou's village when they lost a child in the woods.
***Begin Flashback
" Kiya! Kiya! Where are you?!?" The villagers were beating through the forest looking for the tiny little girl that had gone missing.
Inuyasha picked up his head from the tree he'd been leaning against and twitched his ears before sniffing the wind. Kikyou was out there with the other villagers trying to find the kid too. Of course if they'd shut up for a minute he might be able to hear the kid's voice over the racket. He huffed and folded his arms over his chest. This wasn't his problem. He didn't even know the stupid little brat.
His ears twitched again; he heard crying off to one side. He bounced silently through the trees and listened again.
Kikyou's strong voice echoed in the darkness, " Release the child and I'll spare you."
He cleared the distance between the priestess and himself in a matter of moments. Sure enough Kikyou stood arrow knocked in her bow, ready to fire.
The lizard-like demon hissed and turned back to the whimpering Kiya.
" I will not warn you again." Kikyou threatened.
Inuyasha rolled his golden eyes. Demons like that were stupid as hell. It was gonna go after the kid no matter what.
Kikyou released the arrow sending it into the shoulder of the demon.
It grunted in pain, but instead of turning to attack Kikyou, it reached forewords towards Kiya.
Kikyou gasped in horror and reached for another arrow.
Inuyasha had already leapt down from the tree and tore out the lizard demon's throat with his claws. He shook the blood off his hand.
Kikyou knelt down to pick up Kiya. " It's alright, Kiya. You're safe with me now." Kikyou comforted, before looking up at Inuyasha. "Thank you, Inuyasha. I…" The priestess trailed off as the villagers crashed through the forest. She looked for Inuyasha, but he had already jumped back into the trees above.
A woman rushed forward and pulled Kiya away from Kikyou. " My baby, you're safe. Thank the gods." She hugged her daughter tightly then looked back at Kikyou. " Thank you, Kikyou-sama. She would have died if not for you."
The hanyou in the trees watched Kikyou accept the thanks. But like so many times before he saw the longing in her eyes when she looked at Kiya. Of course if all went according to their plan, she would be able to have a child of her own.
End Flashback***
Inuyasha shook his head. He'd gotten lost in memories for a moment. He looked down at Michi, who was leaning on him heavily, still clutching the doll like her life-line. " When's the last time you ate?" He questioned at her weakened state.
" I don't….I don't remember. I ran all yesterday. I wanted… I wanted to find her. But, I lost the trail." Michi let a few tears fall from her eyes.
" No crying." Inuyasha barked down at her. His tone softened slightly as he tried to assure her. " We'll find your brat. I can smell Sango and the monk, they aren't too far from here."
***
Miroku knelt next to the taijiya and watched her inspection of the ground. She picked up some of the dirt and rubbed it in her fingers before smelling it gingerly.
Sango snorted and pushed herself up onto her feet.
" Well?" The monk asked impatient to continue the search.
Sango walked to one of the nearby trees and pressed her hand against the black stain on it. She pulled her hand back and nodded at the soot that covered it. " This is a burn mark. I don't think it's a demon's fire though. Maybe Tanaya's..." She trailed off biting her lip and continued to look the area over.
" So, she could have escaped."
" Maybe. But the tree is ice-cold. It must have been some time ago. Dawn maybe."
Miroku banged his staff into the ground. " We should have kept going." He couldn't believe Sango had talked him into resting near dawn that morning. If they only would have kept going, maybe…
" We still wouldn't have caught up to them." Sango shook her head. " Tanaya's footprints." She pointed out following them with her eyes, before turning back to the monk. " The demon followed shortly behind her. But Houshi-sama, are you sure we should follow this path? Michi went another way."
" She most likely lost the trail." Miroku rationalized. " I'd rather find Tanaya first, then we can look for Michi. She's old enough to care for herself." Suddenly he looked at her again. "Wait, now you think it's a demon?"
" Yes. The footprints shifted. They became completely different then shifted back. It's a shape shifter."
" Wonderful than it is Naraku and the full moon is in two days..." Miroku sighed heavily and looked into the horizon. " We should keep going. We've lost enough time here."
Sango nodded and called out to her fire-cat, " Kirara, come on it's time to go."
Kirara trotted up to her mistress carry a chard piece of paper.
" What's this?" Sango knelt down and took the paper. " Houshi-sama, is this a spell-scroll?"
Miroku leaned over Sango's shoulder and looked at the paper. " Well it's a corner of one, but it looks awfully old. It must have been in one of the trees." He took it from her and turned it over, " You see the bark impressions are shifted. It must be over 50 years old."
" I wonder where it came from."
"Monk's put up wards when they sleep to keep demons away from their camps. It's probably nothing." He looked at the piece of paper again before putting it in his pocket.
***
" Something wrong?" The deep voice of the "not-Naraku" asked of the pale woman staring at her own hands. He looked over her shoulder at the slight burns. " You were much luckier than I was. She nearly brunt me to death with her flash." When she still didn't response the demon laughed mockingly, " What? The almighty priestess, Kikyou, didn't expect to have her hands brunt by the holy protection fire? Don't forget for now you are still just another demon like the rest of us."
Kikyou's eyes narrowed at the demon that dared ridiculed her. " Give me one reason not to burn you alive where you stand."
He removed the baboon face cover and smiled at the undead priestess. " I can give you, your life."
Kikyou turned her head away and looked back at the sleeping child.
" I suggest you not look at her so much. It will only make the end of this ritual harder." He moved by her and lifted Tanaya from inside the tree.
" And I suggest you take another form, that one make me sick." Kikyou started to walk away, when a familiar voice rang in her ears.
" A different hanyou then?" The shape-shifting demon now had the form of Inuyasha. " Does this one soften your heart, perhaps?" His ears lifted up and down slightly with the posed question.
Kikyou grunted angrily and reached for her bow and arrows.
The demon was suddenly pressed against her, still in Inuyasha's form, and still holding Tanaya. " Remember, Kikyou, kill me and you will not know how to complete the ritual and your chance of life will pass you by. Don't forget we have a deal: a life for a life."
" Change your form, Vira. We still have things to prepare." Kikyou glided away from him and started walking into the woods her Shinidamachuu* singing in flight.
Vira smiled to himself and changed forms again. He could feel the complete freedom of his right leg. The child had burned off part sutra and soon Kikyou would remove the rest. The damned undead priestess didn't even know his true name and without it, she would be helpless once the sutra was removed.
Tanaya's eyelids fluttered slightly.
Vira changed his voice, " It's alright, angel. Go back to sleep. You're safe with me."
The child quieted and leaned against his chest, " Miko."
" That's right, safe with your Miko." Vira laughed silently and kept the form of the young monk.
*soul-gatherers
