"Higurashi" by Jezunya

Chapter 11

Still don't own it... *sigh*

Well, happy Easter everyone! ^_^ Or, happy Passover (Mm.. matzo...) if you're Jewish! Or, uh.. happy getting-days-off-from-school if you don't celebrate either..? Anyway, hope you like this chapter! *cackles evilly*

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Meisai sprinted through the winding hallways of the palace, making her way to the reception hall as fast as she could. It was the only way she could think of to find Kagome.

It was a large, round room, lined on all sides with tall, black mirrors. The mirrors served several purposes: they allowed the Kurotsune direct passage to and from places and times on Earth, without having to rely on the physical portals like Kagome's well. They also worked as a kind of security system – much like the camera-and-TV systems used in the time Kagome had grown up in – allowing one to observe any place, time, or event on Earth or in the palace. Which was how she noticed the dog-demon warily making his way up the front steps.

At first, she was alarmed. How did he get there? Had he followed them when she brought Kagome through? He must have come through the well, but he couldn't possibly know how to control the portal there… Meisai shook her head. It didn't matter – the only important thing was that he was here, and he could help her defeat Marudashi. …If she could get him to cooperate, anyway.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to walk to the entrance, transforming as she went.

***

Inuyasha looked up, freezing in his tracks as one of the large double doors at the front of the building began to slowly move outward. The door opened only a foot or two before a head popped into view, and Inuyasha found himself facing…

"Kagome?!" Hurriedly, he shoved Tetsusaiga back into its sheath and started up the stairs as the girl smiled and stepped out from the behind the door.

"I've been waiting for you to get here," she said, clasping her hands behind her back as he drew near.

Inuyasha nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder in concern. "Are you alri-" His eyes widened and before she could even open her mouth to ask what was wrong, he was holding her against the wall by her throat.

"You almost had me," Inuyasha growled, squeezing slightly on her throat. "But I'm not falling for that one again."

"What- are you-?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he snarled. "You're a kitsune. I can smell it. Now drop the crap and show me your real form."

The girl tried to protest again, but another squeeze on her throat had her nodding her head, and she managed to croak out, "Okay… Okay!"

With a snort, Inuyasha released her and stepped back. The Kagome-look-alike collapsed to the ground, coughing and holding her throat. "Nice way to greet someone trying to help you," she croaked, casting him a frosty glare. Inuyasha just growled and fingered Tetsusaiga threateningly. The kitsune made a face at him and stood, the human appearance melting away as she did so.

She had long black hair and a thick black tail that thrashed impatiently around her legs as she regarded the half-demon with large, black eyes. She was dressed in a plain, dark green kimono-like tunic and black leggings, and she was almost as tall as him when she stood.

Inuyasha snorted, folding his arms in his sleeves. "Well. You don't look like much."

Meisai bristled. "Now look, you-"

"And how do I know you aren't the same one from before, huh? Maybe I should just kill you now and be done with it," Inuyasha sneered, fingering the hilt of his katana again. He seemed to be liking being in control.

"Can't you smell who I am?" Meisai shot back, still glaring.

"Keh." Actually, he could smell that she wasn't the same fox that had impersonated Kagome before. However… "So maybe you're not the other one I fought, but I know your scent. You're the one that was hanging around the village, aren't you? Which means you're also the one who brought Kagome here!" Inuyasha growled, flexing his claws dangerously. Meisai felt a bead of sweat trail down the back of her neck.

"Listen," she growled back, fisting her hands at her sides. "Kagome's in a lot of danger right now, and we-"

The dog-demon suddenly grabbed her by the front of her tunic and dragged her forward, yelling in her face. "Where is she, you little shit?! I swear, if you hurt her-"

With a snarl and a small puff of smoke, Meisai transformed herself into the smallest thing she could think of – a germ. She floated a little ways away from the bewildered half-demon before changing back into her natural form. Inuyasha whirled around to face her as she reappeared, dusting herself off huffily.

"I haven't done anything to Kagome, besides make her feel at home. It's Marudashi you need to worry about," she growled at him, standing straight again.

"Who?" Inuyasha growled, watching her warily.

"Marudashi. If anyone caused trouble for you and Kagome-sama it was probably her." At Inuyasha's blank stare she sighed and began gesturing as she explained. "Short black hair, bit taller than me, annoying smile, real cocky."

At this, recognition finally came into the dog-demon's face, and he nodded. "That's the one who was impersonating Kagome earlier. What's she want with me an' Kagome anyway?"

Meisai grimaced and looked down at her feet. This was where things got messy…

***

"Kagome."

The human girl looked up at the voice. Marudashi regarded her coolly, raising one eyebrow, as if inquiring about her thoughts. Kagome tried to stop herself from swallowing nervously. She had been thinking about Inuyasha. Again. Not that she had to feel guilty about it or anything. Somehow she got the feeling Marudashi wouldn't approve, though...

"Well? What do you think?" the fox woman asked at last, spreading her hands from where they had been folded across her chest to indicate the room around them.

Kagome looked around skeptically. Her first thought was that it was just another big room done up in shiny, black marble. It was rather depressing, really, although it did match her mood perfectly. The only thing that added to the room at all was the huge, intricately carved throne sitting at the other end, a long velvet carpet leading up to the dais on which it stood. All in black of course. She shrugged noncommittally.

Marudashi smirked at her and turned to lead the way down the carpet toward the throne. "This was the throne room of the Time Goddess," she said as she walked.

Kagome nodded, following. Marudashi probably didn't know that Meisai had explained it all to her earlier.

"You are probably wondering why I brought you here," Marudashi said, turning to face her. She had reached the throne, and now stood beside it, resting her hand lightly on the armrest. Kagome just watched her, slowly making her way forward.

The fox woman cocked her head to one side when she didn't answer, her eyes narrowing. "It is for one specific, and very important reason, I assure you."

"Meisai told me," Kagome finally said, looking up at her.

Marudashi raised one eyebrow. "And what would Meisai know about this?" she asked coolly, a dangerous note sounding in her voice.

Kagome half-frowned. "She… said that I was.. am.. the reincarnation of the Time Goddess." She paused, nervous, as Marudashi simply dead-panned at her. "She made it sound like I was supposed to rule here…"

Marudashi blinked at her a few times, slowly. Then, a sardonic smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes and shook her head. She chuckled softly, sending cold shivers down the human girl's spine. When her eyes opened, they were chilling, the deepest, darkest black Kagome had ever seen.

"No, Kagome. It is not you who will be the Goddess." Her smile grew, smug and gruesome. "It's me."

That's when the attack came.

***

"Let me get this straight… All that shit Sesshoumaru told me was true?!" Inuyasha demanded, stopping in his tracks to gape at the fox-girl.

"Yes," Meisai said, for what had to be the seventeenth time at least. She shifted impatiently, trying not to glare at the dog-demon too much, lest he loose his temper again and decide to lob her head off…

"So Kagome's some kinda goddess and I'm really a full-demon?"

"She was and you were," Meisai growled, her hands clenching and unclenching.

He seemed to think about that for a moment as they continued down the corridor, his brow furrowed in concentration. "How do I know this isn't just a trick?" he asked at last, eyeing her suspiciously even as she led the way through the palace.

"How did you know Kagome was Kikyou's reincarnation?" Meisai shot back, then glared over her shoulder at the half-demon when she heard his sharp intake of breath. "Oh yes," she said sourly, "I know all about that. Still a sore spot for you two, huh?"

"Shut up."

Meisai snorted and faced front again. They were nearing the reception hall. "It's a valid point, though. How do we know that Kagome is the reincarnation of our Goddess? The same way you lot knew she was Kikyou's reincarnation."

"What? You mean 'cause they look alike?"

Meisai rolled her eyes. "Her soul, you idiot! That old priestess in your village could tell that Kagome had the same soul as Kikyou! In the same way, we have been watching for Hitotoki's soul to be reincarnated ever since she was killed!" She snorted to herself and continued down the hall. "…Although, yeah, they do all look alike," she conceded after a moment.

"Anyway, the point is, Hitotoki's soul is so huge and so powerful that it stands out like a beacon to us. The first time it happened, we were overjoyed. We tried to contact her, to get her to come back with us, but she just said that she had another mission to fulfill." Meisai trailed off, watching her feet as she padded along. She said 'we' and 'us,' but it had really only been she and her elder brother, Gisou. The other Kurotsune had been unsure, fearing it was a just a coincidence that a priestess had been born with a soul so much like that of their goddess. But she and Gisou had known. There were no doubts in their minds – this was Hitotoki!

She had received them warmly enough, but had turned down their invitations and even their pleas that she return with them. She had explained her 'mission' as best she could, although Meisai had not understood until just recently, until she had met Kagome for the first time.

The first two reincarnations had shared Hitotoki's soul, that was certain, but neither of them had held her spirit. Meisai had few memories of the goddess, but she knew that she had never been as bitter and angry as the seeress, nor as cold and detached as the priestess who came after her.

But Kagome…

Kagome was sweet, innocent, loving, just like Hitotoki had been before she'd died. She didn't seem to harbor any of the old feelings of rage and betrayal toward the god who had revealed her love-affair with the demon Ryoushi, although such feelings had filtered into the spirits of the two before her, in lessening degrees each time. The seeress had been filled with a white-hot hate, leading her to her violent death in the fight with the demon-of-demons; the priestess had been cold, and while she did not go out of her way to harm the betrayer's reincarnation, her movements were nothing more than mechanical, offering neither compassion nor forgiveness. With Kagome, however, the goddess's soul seemed to have finally purged itself of the destructive emotions, allowing Kagome to embody the sweet, loving spirit of the goddess once again. She had not only forgiven the god who had betrayed her, she had no memory of it whatsoever, not even an unconscious nervousness when in his presence! Heck, she even allowed the boy's attempts at courting her!

Meisai shook her head. Kagome might have godly patience with the boy, but personally she couldn't stand the little wretch... Not that she had much affection for Kagome's other suitor, she thought, casting a glance back at the half-demon who was devoutly glaring at the back of her head as he walked. She rolled her eyes and faced front again.

The doorway into the reception hall loomed up out of the blackness of the corridor, the room's many mirrors gleaming dully beyond it. Meisai drew a deep breath and quickened her pace, hearing Inuyasha do the same behind her.

She ran to the nearest mirror, picking up her search of the palace where she had left off when she had spotted the dog-demon outside. She had begun with the corridors nearest Kagome's quarter's and all of the rooms that came off of them, slowly working her way outward in a wider and wider radius around the girl's rooms. No luck yet...

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha growled behind her. "We need to find Kagome, and she sure as hell isn't in here!"

"I'm trying to find her," Meisai grouched back, her eyes still scanning over the rooms the mirror presented her with.

She could almost see the dog-demon shifting from foot to foot impatiently, a steady growl rising in his throat. "Then what the hell did you need me for? I thought you wanted me to help you find her."

"I can find her myself," she snapped, still not looking up, "but chances are she'll be with..." Her voice suddenly trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she gaped at the mirror.

Inuyasha was beside her in one leap. He drew a sharp breath. "It's that kitsune-bitch," he snarled, his whole form tensing with rage.

"Marudashi," Meisai nodded, her insides going cold. "But where's Kagome..?" She expanded the image in the mirror, giving them a full view of the room. Meisai recognized the throne room at once, and also the grim irony of the situation when she spotted the human girl slumped at the foot of the dais. To have come so close to regaining her throne, only to fail at the last moment... Marudashi really did have a gruesome sense of humor.

"What..?" Inuyasha whispered from beside her, his face pale, confused. As they watched, Marudashi seemed to laugh to herself as she sauntered down the carpet leading out of the throne room, all the while licking a thick, dark red substance from her fingers. Around Kagome, a pool of the same substance was forming, slowly dripping down onto the floor from the raised platform.

Inuyasha fell back a step, his eyes wide, riveted on the scene in the mirror. His breath quickened, his whole body going cold and numb, yet on fire all at once. His mind was completely blank but for the terrible image of Kagome's limp, unmoving body. Then, he had one clear thought:

He was going to kill Marudashi.

He didn't know where he was going, but as he sped out into the corridor, the blood scent filled his senses, making him see red. He dashed down the hall, following it mindlessly to its source.

Two huge double doors appeared before him, and then were open in an instant as he barreled through them, skidding to a halt once he was inside. His eyes flew around the room wildly, finally landing on the form of the human girl slumped in front of the huge black throne. A pool of blood surrounded her, soaking into her clothes, her hair. She didn't move though.

"Kagome!" He ran forward, carelessly dropping Tetsusaiga as he fell to his knees beside her. She didn't answer, or make any move to acknowledge him. "Kagome!!" He grabbed her shoulders, turning her over to see her face. He shook her, begging her to wake up, to open her eyes, despite the gaping hole where her heart should have been.

Dimly, he was aware of Meisai approaching cautiously behind him. From her scent he could tell she was crying, but then so was he. He growled, then let out a frustrated scream as he cradled Kagome's limp form against him, not caring about the blood covering her and now him.

"Inuyasha..." Meisai put out a hand to touch his shoulder, then thought better of it and just clasped her hands in front of her.

The dog-demon slowly loosened his grip on the corpse, gently laying her out on the floor in front of him. He stared down at her pale, delicate face, smudged with blood, his hands braced on his thighs in a semblance of relaxation even as his entire form radiated tension. "Is this what you planned?" he croaked, not looking up. "Maybe Kagome really was the reincarnation of your goddess. But it didn't matter, she was just human. Expendable, right? You just couldn't let me get away with what happened before, had to make me suffer." He wiped his face with his sleeve, closing his eyes and swallowing hard. "Well, it's working."

"I had nothing to do with-" Meisai began, but the clawed hand at her throat cut her off.

"I oughta kill you right now," Inuyasha snarled, holding her a foot off the ground by her neck. His free hand grasped for his sword, finally found it. "You little.. stupid…" He shook his head, gave her one last deadly glare and threw her across the room as hard as he could. With a loud thud she collided with one of the marble pillars lining the huge room, and Inuyasha was gone before she even hit the floor.

"Bastard…" Meisai coughed, painfully levering herself up onto her hands and knees. She looked up to glare in the direction Inuyasha had gone, but her eyes fell on the lifeless human girl instead. With a deep sigh, she got to her feet and made her way over.

She was dead; there was no mistaking that. No one would be able to survive with such a wound, not even the oh-so-great half-demon Inuyasha. She dropped to her knees, closing her eyes as she positioned the girl's hands to cover the hole in her chest, a gaping cavity right where her heart should have been.

Meisai grimaced, feeling tears prick her eyes once more. So close! They had been so close! All this time of waiting, of watching as each reincarnation was born, until finally it was the third one. But now… She hung her head, her shoulders shaking as simple tears turned into quiet sobs. It was useless. They'd lost.

Her eyes opened slightly to stare down at Kagome's blurry form through her tears and something finally clicked in her head. Her heart. Her heart had been ripped out. Marudashi had been licking her fingers as she left. She had ripped out Kagome's heart with her bare hand. Licking her fingers. Meisai's eyes widened, resisting the urge to wretch as she scrambled away from the bloody scene.

Marudashi had eaten Kagome's heart!! Meisai clutched her throat, feeling her whole body go numb as her stomach began to revolt. She had no other wounds on her, so she must have still been alive and conscious, and Marudashi just reached over and stuck her hand in her chest and… She shuddered, looking away in revulsion.

Of course, once the initial horror wore off, the other, even more significant fact of the situation came to the front of her mind. Meisai's eyes flew open.

It was a common, and not inaccurate, belief among the youkai of earth that the soul, and thus a being's power, was housed in the physical heart. Humans liked to think that it was just an organ, that there were no magical properties to it, but then most humans didn't have any 'supernatural' powers that would be rooted in their hearts. Most of them could only do what their four limbs allowed them. But Kagome…

Kagome was a powerful miko, and the reincarnation of a goddess. Her powers may have come from light and purity, but when it came down to it, she was just like a youkai – her powers were all based in her heart.

Marudashi had eaten Kagome's heart… She had absorbed Kagome's powers.

With a gasp, Meisai leapt to her feet to run after Inuyasha. She might not like the dog-demon much, but in this case they were on the same side, and at the very least, he'd need some help fighting someone with godly powers.

She was out of the room in an instant, and didn't even spare a glance back at the human girl's body. If she had, she might have seen the smooth, round jewel she wore at her neck slowly begin to pulse, almost like a heartbeat. She also might have seen Kagome's body slowly fade away, leaving behind nothing but a few bloodstains on the floor before the throne.

** ** ** ** **

Sorry, short chapter this time.. Kudos to anyone who can guess what's going on with Kagome (besides being dead...) Yeah, aren't I nice? I just killed the main character!! Wahahaha... ha... ha... *cough* Anyway, I hope this is making sense to you all. I think we still have a few more chapters to go (at least one and an epilogue-ish thing...), so don't worry, there is still more to come. ^_^

Also, I didn't come up with the whole eating-someone's-heart-to-absorb-their-powers thing… I don't know if they did this in the anime, but in the manga, when Inuyasha is fighting Hiten and Manten (the Thunder Brothers), Manten is killed first. Hiten then goes and eats Manten's heart, thus giving him all of his brother's powers. Kinda gross, I know, but then these guys are man-eating youkai and Marudashi is just plain nasty, so they're allowed to be gross…

Anyway, hope you liked!! Please review!!

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Ps - Question for the readers/reviewers: do yall want a sad ending, happy ending, or really happy ending?