"Yeah, she seemed pretty upset about it." Miroku said quietly into his cell phone.
"She's with her Dr. today, right?" Sango asked worriedly.
"Yes, and I told her to make sure to bring it up. Who knows what it all means, but there is obviously something worrying her very much."
"I'm glad she has Dr. Myouga. It was a good thing you finally convinced her to talk to someone about her parents last year. It is good to have someone you know you can depend on in times like this. He really helped her then, and I know he'll help her again now." Sango added.
"Do you think this could be unresolved issues about her parents again?" Miroku asked.
"Who knows? Hey, I am glad you called, Miroku, but I have to go chase the child. God only knows what he has managed to get himself into now. Kiss Kagome for me. Bye!"
"Bye, Sango."
"Okay Kagome, how do you feel?"
She fidgeted in her chair. "Fine"
"So, Kagome, what do you see?"
Dr. Myouga looked down at his notebook. He easily took Kagome down to a deep trance state; she was very open to suggestions. This was only the first time he had ever tried to hypnotize her, and he expected excellent results, due to her willingness to delve deep. He would allow her to tell him where she was, therefore telling him at what point she had gotten "hung up." Some patients went straight to six years of age, some stayed firmly grounded in adulthood. It all depended on the patient and where the pain was.
"Um, it's almost sunset." She started, tentatively. "And wet. It was raining, but it stopped."
"Excellent, Kagome. What else? Do you know where you are?"
"Not really. I'm in a small village."
'Interesting answer,' he thought. Not 'in a mall' or 'in a restaurant' but a 'small village.' He placed his pencil tip to the paper.
"There are not many huts in this village."
He looked at her for a moment. "Huts, Kagome? Do you see huts?"
"Yes, but only a few. I think this closest one is the town Miko. It feels like the energy is strongest here."
The doctor was amazed. He slowly set his paper down and leaned closer to Kagome.
"Where are you, Kagome? Are you in Tokyo?"
She shook her head. "No, but still in Japan. Not sure exactly where." She took a deep breath.
"Can you hear anything, Kagome?" he wanted to get her to engage all of her senses. He couldn't believe everything this young woman was saying. He couldn't think of a single place where you could still find a Miko in a hut, so her wanted to know exactly where, and when she was seeing.
"Mmm...no, it's pretty quiet."
"Are there any people around you, Kagome?"
She moved her head slightly, eyes still closed. She smiled slightly.
"My friends. We're getting ready to leave this village. It seems as though Miroku-sama has upset Sango again, by repeatedly groping the women of this village. You'd think he'd be much more trustworthy, since he is a hoshi." Kagome giggled. "But it seems as though..." she stopped for a moment. A worried look crossed her face and she began to address her friends as though she were with them.
"There's a shard, Inu Yasha. Maybe more than one, I can't tell because it's moving away quite quickly. We have to hurry."
The doctor continued to watch Kagome. "A what? Where are you going?"
"East. But we have to hurry! I'll climb on your back and Sango and Miroku can ride Kirara. That's the fastest way to go."
The doctor was silent. Kagome put her hands to her head and moved slightly in the chair. She seemed as though she wished to get up and walk away, but was firmly rooted to her place.
The doctor decided that this was plenty of information for him to quiz his patient with when she awoke, so her decided to start pulling her back.
"Kagome, I am going to start to count again. And when I reach twenty you will open your eyes and be awake."
Kagome clutched Inu Yasha's bright red haori as he leapt into the air covering as much ground as possible. She looked over to see Miroku planted firmly on Kirara behind Sango, and Shippou was holding tight to Kirara's fur and his tail was waving wildly in the wind.
She felt the energy glowing brighter; it had stopped moving.
"Wait, I think it stopped." Kagome ventured.
With that, dozens of youkai appeared above them, with almost no warning whatsoever. Inu Yasha set Kagome on the ground and quickly unsheathed the Tessaiga. Sango released her boomerang with a yell and Kagome effortlessly notched an arrow into her bow and let fly. Within moments they had eradicated all traces of the demons. Kagome tilted her head and looked as though she were thinking.
"There," she said, pointing towards a clearing. "It is strong, there are several Shikon shards!"
Miroku stood still for a moment. "This feels like a trap," he stated. Only one being had 'several' shards, and that was Naraku. But why would he be outside of his barrier and carrying the almost whole Shikon no Tama that he possessed? It was as though he were baiting them.
Suddenly Kagome screamed. The group looked at her to see that she was floating slightly above the ground, seemingly not of her own power. Inu Yasha grabbed for her, but his hand merely bounced off the barrier that surrounded her limp body.
"Naraku!" Inu Yasha roared. "Let her go, you bastard!"
"Hehehehe..." they heard from the darkness. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have her. She does."
Inu Yasha stormed toward the sound of Naraku's voice, his sword still at the ready, hate in his eyes. "Release her! I'll KILL you, Naraku!"
At that moment, Kagome seemed to grow hazy with fog and then she completely disappeared. Inu Yasha was devastated.
"NARAKU!"
Naraku floated soundlessly away. His plan had worked; he had drawn the scraggly bunch of fighters to him by flaunting the Shikon no Tama. He knew that human girl could sense the shards, and now he had the information he needed. He knew the girl would be back.