Chapter Two: A Price Beyond Rubies
This chapter is brought to you by M for Merith, who is a beta reader par excellence, and N for Niamh, who helps me keep going. Chocolate for both of you!
I do not, in point of fact, own Inuyasha, which is probably just as well.
Chapter title and epigraph is from "Tragedy," by Emmylou Harris.
***
I could've caused your heart to yield
But I was only a disturbance in the field
Of your dreams
***
"So what exactly are we lookin' for?" Inuyasha asked Miroku as the monk came strolling back out of the village.
"I'm getting mixed reports. Most of the locals insist that their guardian youkai is peaceful. But I did find a few who said that lately the woods have become dark and haunted. With that kind of change, it's entirely possible that there's a shard involved."
"And what did you have to offer them in exchange for that information?" Sango said sourly from where she was leaning on a tree.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Miroku said artlessly, trying for his usual guiltless expression.
Sango sauntered over to him and ran a finger down his neck, making him shiver. "Do you usually wear lip paint on your neck?" She held up her reddened fingertip.
Miroku flushed and scrubbed at the marks with the hem of his sleeve. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "How d'you know they didn't just tell you that stuff to keep you around?"
"I'll have you know one of my informants was a respected elder of the village."
"I'm sure," Sango murmured.
"Well, it's worth investigating," Miroku said. "If it turns out to be nothing we can simply move on."
"As long as I get to ask the questions in the next village," Sango said.
"Hell, I don't care. Whatever it takes to find another shard." Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome. She sat quietly beneath a tree, staring into space, while both Shippo and Kirara dozed on her lap. "What d'you think, Kagome?" Kagome smiled faintly and brushed her hair back. Inuyasha frowned. "Kagome?"
She blinked and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry?"
"Do you think we should check out this guardian youkai?"
"Um, sure. That's why we're here, right?"
He stared at her.
Kagome squirmed. "Did I miss something?"
"Oh, who the fuck cares? I don't fuckin' know why I even bother askin' you. It's not like you listen." Inuyasha stormed off towards the woods. "Lemme know if you decide to show up."
Kagome looked at Sango and Miroku. "I guess I did miss something."
"It's all right, Kagome-sama," Miroku said. "He's just being Inuyasha." Sango nodded in agreement, though a faint frown creased her brow.
The woods glimmered with the sunlight peeking through the trees. At first it felt more like they were taking a pleasant stroll than searching for a shard. Miroku teased Sango, and Shippo chattered to Kagome about whatever popped into his head. Only Inuyasha's constant sullen presence in the branches overhead shadowed Kagome's mood. As they wound their way deeper, the atmosphere shifted. The sunlight dimmed and grew faint, the leaves now blocking the sun instead of embracing it. An eerie hush closed about them, as even the birds and insects fell silent. The very trees seemed to press in around them, as the path narrowed and the underbrush grew denser and darker. Miroku drew near to Sango, shielding her. Shippo whimpered and huddled close to Kagome. Inuyasha landed in front of the group, glaring into the woods.
"There's somethin' rotten smelling out there. I don't like this."
"Something's twisted these woods, that's certain. Whether it's a shard, I couldn't say." Miroku glanced back at Kagome. "What do you sense?"
Kagome frowned, closing her eyes. "There's a shard here, somewhere, but it's not moving. It's over... there." She pointed to the most shadowed path into the heart of the forest.
"Figures," Shippo muttered.
"The shard may not be movin' but something is," Inuyasha muttered, drawing the Tetsusaiga. "It's comin' this way, fast." Miroku hefted his staff. Sango drew her katana, unable to use Hiraikotsu because of the closeness of the trees. Kagome nocked an arrow, glancing nervously at the path.
"Shippo, stay with Kirara," Sango said. "We can't fly here because of the trees." Shippo nodded and cowered down into the cat youkai's ruff.
A roar rumbled out of the undergrowth and a boar burst from the bushes of the shadowed path. It lowered its head and bugled, an odd hoarse ululation. Miroku and Sango edged sideways, flanking it. "What's it doing?" Sango asked. "I've never heard a boar make that sound."
"Keh, that's not a youkai, that's a plain ol' boar."
"It may not be a youkai, but that cry woke some kind of magic." Miroku's eyes widened. "Run!"
"What?" Kagome yelled. "Why?"
A branch lashed down, bowling Inuyasha over. Another swiped Sango to her knees. Gasping, she lashed out at it with her blade. "What the hell?"
"The trees!" Miroku shouted. "The boar called the trees!"
Inuyasha sprang to his feet. "I don't care what it did, it's dead." He hefted his sword and charged at the boar. It dodged his initial cut and slashed across Inuyasha's wrist with one of its tusks. Inuyasha swore. Kagome watched wide-eyed, worried about firing into the melee. Sango scrambled up and circled behind, looking for an opportunity to disable the creature.
"It must be controlled by something; no mortal creature moves that fast," she called to Inuyasha.
Inuyasha's reply was cut short by roots erupting from the ground and wrapping themselves around his ankles. Sango dove in and attempted to hamstring the boar, but it wheeled and sliced at her with its tusks, forcing her back as well as moving itself out of the reach of the Tetsusaiga. Miroku leapt in and smashed the boar over the head with his staff, to no effect. Inuyasha yanked at the roots, but whatever magic moved the trees made them indestructible. He dug his fingers into the fresh slash on his wrist, drenching his fingers in his own blood. "Sango! Get down!" Sango dropped and rolled aside, but more roots burst from the ground, wrapping around her waist. Miroku dashed over to her, trying to free her. Inuyasha grimaced and flung his hand out. "Hijin Ketsusou!" The blades flashed out, slicing through the boar's throat and spine. The animal collapsed, but the roots remained immovable about his feet. "Damn it!"
"It's not dead," Miroku called back to him. "Be careful!"
The boar shook its head and lurched to its feet, blood streaming down its hide from the gaping wounds in its neck and back. Vines whipped down from the trees, snaring Inuyasha by the wrists.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed.
"I refuse to get fuckin' killed by a pig and a bunch of damn trees! Kagome! Can you hit that thing?"
"I'll try." Her arrow shot towards the boar, but the vines jerked Inuyasha into the path. The arrow pierced his left arm, and he winced, grateful that she hadn't put her power behind that shot. "Inuyasha!"
"I'm fine! But--Kagome--don't shoot anymore!"
Miroku stood up and advanced warily on the boar. It slammed itself into him, knocking the breath out of him and trampling him beneath its hooves. Miroku lay still, just beyond Sango's reach as she stretched a hand out to him from where she lay prone. The boar nosed Miroku a couple of times and then turned back to Inuyasha.
No!
A quick flicker of light outlined the boar for a moment, before swelling outward to encompass the group. The boar grunted, then slumped to the ground. Inuyasha blinked as the vines and roots binding him went slack. Sango ripped herself free and crawled over to check on Miroku. Overhead, the animated branches scraped across the barely visible shield. "What the hell?" Inuyasha said. He grimaced, yanked the arrow out of his arm, and tossed it aside.
Sango sat back on her heels. "Whatever it is, houshi-sama's not doing it." The monk sat up slowly, wheezing.
Inuyasha frowned. "That means...." His eyes widened and he turned around. Kagome stared back at him. She'd dropped to one knee, hand outstretched. Magic flickered between her fingers and in her eyes, lending her an unearthly quality. "What're you doing?"
She shook her head, bewildered. "I don't know!"
Miroku got a good look at her and gasped, then coughed. "Kagome-sama, I had no idea your powers had grown so."
"They haven't! I don't know how to do this! I don't even know what it is!" Her brow furrowed as the shield overhead shimmered for a moment, then steadied.
"We have to get the shard," Sango said. "Kagome, can you guide us to it while holding the spell?"
"I might." She began to stand up, but the shield wavered so much she sank back down. "Or maybe not."
"Shit! How're we supposed to get it?"
Kagome closed her eyes. "I can feel it from here," she said quietly after a moment.
Inuyasha took a step closer to her. "Kagome?"
"It's in the tree at the heart of the wood," she said. The small sparks of her magic began to crack and spit around her, arcing to the ground. "The guardian of the forest was afraid, and angry. He wanted more power to shield his creatures." Kagome reached out with her other hand, closing it around something only she could see. "He used this." Light shimmered brilliantly around her fist, then died. Above them, the branches ceased to move of their own accord. The shield spell flickered out, followed by the glitter haloing Kagome. She sank back, rubbing her head with her free hand.
Inuyasha dropped to his knees, laying his hands on her shoulders, resisting the urge to clamp down. "Kagome, what did you do?"
"I got the shard," Kagome said in a small voice. "Now I have a headache."
"What do you mean, you got the shard?"
Kagome opened her fist. A jewel shard rocked on her palm.
***
"Kagome-sama should not have been able to do what she did today," Miroku said.
"No shit," Inuyasha said. The two men and Sango were sitting in a room of one of the nicer homes in the village. The villagers who had reported problems in the forest had been willing to accept the story about the rogue boar, and quite happy to put the group up for the night. Kagome, whose headache from the magical backlash had nearly blinded her, had gone off for a bath and a nap. Shippo had gone with her, wanting to console his adopted mother when she was in so much pain.
Sango ignored Inuyasha. "What do you mean?"
"Kagome-sama is, naturally, quite powerful, but she doesn't know how to use her power. That she will someday be able to do what we saw her do, I have no doubt. The surprise is not that she did it, but that she did it when she's still so untrained."
"I don't know what you're bitchin' about," Inuyasha growled. "We got the shard, right? End of story."
Miroku arched an eyebrow. "She suddenly manifests levels of power and ability that should be years beyond her and it doesn't concern you at all?"
"Wench doesn't do anything normally; why should this surprise me?"
"You're the one wearing the spell under her control," Sango said dryly. "I'd worry if I were you."
Inuyasha stood up. "Look, I don't care how she did it or what it means. All I care about is that we got the shard and we're done here." He stomped out the door. Sango sighed and looked back at Miroku.
"What does it mean?"
Miroku grimaced. "I've been trying to think of how to describe it. The closest I can come is that what we saw today was the magical equivalent of a raw youth with natural swordsman's talent fighting like a seasoned veteran. It simply doesn't happen." Miroku felt Sango grow very still. "What is it?"
"Kohaku," Sango said with difficulty. "Before his possession, he had talent, but little actual fighting experience. It was only after Naraku implanted the shard in his back that he fought like a crazed killer."
"You think Kagome-sama might be under Naraku's control?"
"Isn't it possible? And don't say no just because you don't want to believe it's true."
"But Kohaku only behaves that way because he has a shard in him."
"We don't know whether Kagome does," Sango said. "She's the only one who can see them, and if she is under his control, we obviously can't ask her."
Miroku spun his staff between his hands, staring thoughtfully at the floor. "You may have a point," he said eventually. "My only question is, what does he gain from enhancing her power in such an unsubtle manner? He usually works through secrecy and betrayal, not blatant displays of force."
Sango sighed. "I hadn't thought of that." Kirara crawled into her lap, mewing, and Sango stroked her idly.
"We'll keep an eye on her just in case, Sango. He won't take us unawares."
"Not you, maybe," Sango said waspishly. "I, for one, am no proof against his snares."
Miroku stared at her. "You mustn't think you're a danger to us."
"Aren't I?"
"When we met you, he only controlled you because you were so badly wounded and upset. He had to blackmail you into stealing the Tetsusaiga. And even then, with so much at stake, you fought back. I trust you."
She looked up at him and smiled tremulously. "Thank you." He swallowed, caught in her eyes. She stared back, breath hitching a bit. "Do... do you think we should tell Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice slightly higher-pitched than normal.
Miroku tore his gaze away. "I don't think so. Of all of us, he's the least likely to think Lady Kagome capable of being Naraku's instrument. And it's taken him so long to trust her as much as he does. I can't bear to tell him he may have been betrayed again."
Sango looked doubtful. "A nice sentiment, but one that we may not be able to afford."
"Do you think you could tell him?"
Silence lingered between the two. "No," Sango said finally. "My better judgment tells me we should, but... no." Her hands clenched in Kirara's fur. "But I've already lost so much to Naraku. I won't lose Kagome, too."
***
A quiet shadow slipped through the door flap of the hut where Kagome lay sleeping. The young miko stirred briefly as a shaft of sunlight passed across her face. The shadow sighed softly and stooped, brushing his fingers against her brow. A small smile curved her mouth.
Shippo poked his head up sleepily. "What're you doing here?"
Fuck, I forgot that little brat was in here. "None of your damn business," Inuyasha muttered.
Shippo shrugged and snuggled back down against Kagome. "I won't tell. After all, we gotta protect her, right?"
Inuyasha blinked as the fox child dozed off again, then shook himself. He sat back against the wall, resting the Tetsusaiga against his shoulder, gazing at Kagome absently. What the hell happened, Kagome? I saw Miroku's face: he was frightened. Really frightened. Inuyasha took a deep breath, letting Kagome's scent soak into him. You don't smell like there's anything wrong.
But there are things even I can't protect you from.
What's happening to you, Kagome?
***
And I will never see you cry
You won't be with me when I die
A waste of you and me
A tragedy