Disclaimer: No purchase necessary. See previous chapters for details.

Yay, continuing on this great and much-loved story is the first chapter of book two! Hurrah! And I got the idea for the second book title from Okomyaki-chan; thanks a bunch!

Christmas is coming up! (for those of you who didn't notice, nice to know you moved off of that planet *cough*Yingy*cough*) Because of this I'm going to be taking up a few days off and everything, maybe write a short little Christmas-y fic induced by too much Vanilla Coke. This doesn't mean anything for Guardian Angel, except maybe a Christmas surprise is Ama's lucky…

Anyway, forward and onwards! Book two!

Book two:

Tears in Heaven

There is no good or evil but different choices.

Chapter 15:

Purity

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, illuminating the thin green leaves of the young trees in the forest, giving the world a healthy, mystical glow. Birds sang chirpily, hopping around and picking up insects and seeds to feed themselves and their youngsters, while chattering amongst themselves. Butterflies and dragonflies fluttered about in the forest, resting or feeding on the many flowers that grew on the ground or from the trees, the sun brightening them up to look like living rainbows or airborne jewels. A light breeze filtered through, just enough to cool down the perfect late May weather and rustle the foliage to make a soothing noise.

It was truly a beautiful day.

Miroku sighed and stretched out, leaning against the smooth trunk of the tree behind him, closing his eye contentedly. As a spirit he could filter out any aggravating sensations, not feel a caterpillar crawl through him, not notice the result of a frightened skunk nearby, not having to worry about the sun shining in his eyes, dirt on his monk's kimono, bird crap, bugs or anything else. He could just sit there and tune himself to merely bask in the sun's glowing warmth. It was great day to be alive. It was an even greater day to be dead.

"Listen, I said I don't want to talk about it anymore!"

"All I want to know is how come you're always so grumpy and cynical to me and yet you spend five minutes with that wolf brat and he's 'mister perfect'?"

"Maybe he leaves a better impression then you!"

"There was nothing wrong with the way I was talking to you!"

"Really? So to angels saying somebody is stupid is a good way to start of a relationship?"

"I never said you were stupid! And since when did we have a relationship?"

"Not that kind of relationship you moron!"

"Bitch!"

"SIT!"

WHAM! "Fuck!"

Miroku sighed and closed his eyes tighter, hoping he could maybe figure out a way to block sound as well. If there was one thing that could ruin a beautiful day, he thought, it was Inu-Yasha. Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to get a decent rest with those two hanging around he sat up and looked at the pair of them. Kagome was sitting off under a large oak tree talking to Shippo while the tiny kitsune nibbled on a chocolate bar and would occasionally nod. Inu-Yasha was nowhere to be seen.

"Kagome-sama?" Kagome looked up as Miroku took a seat beside her. The monk leaned against the oak's trunk and sighed. "Would you know any reason as to why Inu-Yasha is acting so rash?" he asked. Kagome shook her head, fuming.

"I don't know what he's so angry about, Kouga-kun's not that bad. Kouga-kun's actually a nice guy, even though he's full demon and Inu-Yasha's only a quarter." She paused. "Why is that?"

Miroku shrugged. "I suppose there are good demons and evil angels just as there are good and evil humans. I assume though that perhaps Kouga and his clan are more humane then most demons because they've lived here for so long. Of course, that could also be why there are bad angels."

"Have you ever seen a bad angel?" Kagome asked distantly, staring up through the leaves. Shippo swallowed his chocolate and answered the girl's question before his task got to it.

"I've never seen one Kagome, but there have been tales of them." The small angel said, looking up at her. "Usually they're rogue angels like that Ayeka we saw at the festival, angels that just live on the mortal plane because they like the excitement or something. It's not as common now, but when angels used to live like regular people you could get a lot of corrupt angels and a lot of mixed blood too, like Inu-Yasha. Bad angels usually become so corrupt they turn into demons."

"You really know a lot, don't you?" Kagome asked, tickling the kitsune's tail. Shippo tried to squirm out of her grasp, giggling. "Kagome, stop that! It tickles!" He whined.

"That's the point, baka!" Kagome smirked, tickling harder. Shippo began squealing and wriggled out of her grasp, scooting over to hide behind his task. "Save me Miroku!"

"Now why should I do that?" Miroku asked, pulling his angel out from behind him and holding him down for Kagome to tickle.

"That's cheating!" Shippo screamed through his laughter. "Two against one isn't fair, especially when I'm a quarter your size!"

"Tell it to the judge." Miroku said, maintaining his grip. Tears were coming out of Shippo's eyes by now as the little angel tried to free himself from being tickled to death.

"Help, help!" Shippo squealed and suddenly something grabbed the front of his kimono and pulled him upwards, out of Kagome and Miroku's grasp. He found himself staring into two golden eyes, with a glare in them liable to kill.

"Inu-Yasha, put Shippo down!" Kagome called up from below the tree.

"The brat and I are having an angel-to-angel talk, so stay out of it!" Inu-Yasha said, bounding away. Kagome frowned and put her hands on her hips, knowing that her angel was holding Shippo in such a way that if she said 'sit' he would only fall right on the smaller child. She crossed her arms and tried one final yell. "Fine then, I hope you're happy that you just left me alone with Miroku!"

"Kagome-sama, that hurts." Miroku sighed, raising a hand in confusion. As he put it down again a familiar boomerang connected with his skull.

"That's for good reason, Houshi-sama." Sango said, putting her Hirakutsou away. Miroku sighed and looked at both the girls, who were looking at him with annoyed expressions. He held both his hands up to show where they were and that he was harmless and he sat down.

"Fine, fine, no hard feelings. Now if you two could please sit down…"

They sat down on a tree opposite the monk, so they could face him perfectly and see everything he did. Miroku sighed again.

"No respect."

"Inu-Yasha, where are you taking me?" Shippo squealed as he watched the little forest groove they had been resting in disappear. "If you hurt me I'll tell Kagome!"

"Like hell you will." Inu-Yasha growled, silencing the kitsune. The older angel stopped and landed on an old tree, looking around. "There, this is good." He put the kit down and sat in front of him, arms crossed as he looked at the younger with a stern face. Shippo gulped.

"Wha-what do you want from me?" He asked, backing up nervously but knowing he could never outrun Inu-Yasha.

"Is Kagome really that pissed off with me?" Inu-Yasha's question knocked Shippo completely off guard and almost threw the kitsune out of the tree. "What?" he asked, blinking.

"I asked you if Kagome was really that pissed off." Inu-Yasha said, a little more irritable that time. "You seem to get along with her well. Did she say that she was pissed off with me? After all, I'm just concerned for her safety, she didn't have to bitch out and 'sit' me and everything."

Shippo blinked, not believing his eyes or ears. Is this guy really from my dad's time? He wondered, watching the half-angel sulk moodily. Inu-Yasha glared over at Shippo. "Well?"

"Uh… ah… well…" Shippo thought quickly. "She's not that mad at you, it's just that when you're over protective she gets a little nervous. You're her angel, you should know her better then any of us. To get conversation going try… uh…" Shippo thought carefully. "Try bringing up a topic from her life, like a day she had at the amusement park, or her fifth birthday party or something. Try to relate it to the topic that's going on, or to something that happened, don't bring it up out of the blue or it'll sound rehearsed. And don't pick a memory that might get her depressed or that you found funny but she obviously didn't. Try to be sincere about it. And don't swear as much." He added, backing up a bit more.

Inu-Yasha watched Shippo carefully for a minute, going over everything the kitsune had said. "You know gaki, I didn't understand half of that babble you just spat out, but overall it sounded good. And you're Kinu's brat?" He shook his head in disbelief and picked up Shippo again. "Okay kit, we're going back. And if this shit you gave me doesn't work, it's your head."

"H-hey!" Shippo sputtered from his undignified position of being held by the collar. "It's not my fault if you screw up! Kyaa, don't hurt me!" He curled up into a ball as Inu-Yasha's fist came close to his head. Inu-Yasha smirked before taking off. "Yeah, you're definitely Kinu's brat."

Kagome dug through her bag and pulled out three mochi cakes, which she distributed among the quartet of them. Sango broke off a piece of hers to give to Kirrara before finishing the original piece, while Miroku chose to chew the tidbit slowly. Kagome ate it in three bites and dearly wished it was oden.

"So what did you see, Sango-chan?" She asked, making conversation as they waited for Inu-Yasha to come back with Shippo. Sango shrugged.

"Nothing much, a few small mountains like Inu-Yasha said and a really dense forest. I couldn't see anything but Kirrara said that's the definite area where the key is."

Once again Kagome was a bit miffed that she wasn't able to understand the feline's speech, but at least now wasn't alone because of Miroku. "So how long do you think it'll take us to get there?" She asked. Again Sango shrugged, sucking some sugar off of her fingertips.

"About a day or so walking, since we're in no hurry anyway." She said. "Plus, if there is supposed to be a village around here, walking will make it easier to find rather then trying to spot it through all this dense forest."

"Good point." Kagome agreed, wondering if she should eat Inu-Yasha's portion of the meal and eyeing the bag hungrily. Then her hopes were dashed as the angels in question suddenly jumped down from the trees, and mochi cakes were forgotten as Kagome jumped ten feet into the air and screamed.

"Kami Inu-Yasha, don't do that!" She said, trying to catch her breath as her guardian angel dropped Shippo on the ground and looked up at her. "Don't do what?" he asked innocently. Kagome threw up her hands in exasperation and sat down again. "Inu-Yasha, you're impossible." She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Inu-Yasha grinned and sat down beside her, taking it to his liberty to snatch the mochi cake that lay in the bag nearby. He ate it in one bite and swallowed, trying to think of how to put Shippo's advice to use.

"Sango-chan says it's about a day's walk from here to your village." Miroku said, bringing up conversation. He immediately received a glare from a harried half-angel.

"It's not my village, understand bouzo? I lived on the outskirts for about five years out of my four-hundred and whatever year life. That doesn't make it my village." He growled defensively, glancing at the bag to see if there were any more mochi cakes but disappointed to see Shippo eat the last one.

"Really, you lived near here?" Kagome said, trying to change the subject again. Inu-Yasha looked at her and nodded. "Where?" she asked.

"Uh… a few hours from here actually. Both my parents liked it quiet and it's not like they were bothered much. Of course, I don't expect the house to be there anymore since it's been so long. In fact, I'm surprised it hasn't been industrialized yet." He glanced around dully.

"Me too." Sango nodded. "Since most of this country is urbanized or used for industry or something. This must be part of a natural reserve."

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Would make sense, especially if the key was here. Even though you humans are as dumb as bricks, you still have the sense to preserve something you can just unconsciously feel is important. Kind of like why most of ya are obsessed over those rainforests. There's a key buried in there somewhere." He smirked, suddenly receiving a point where he could get Kagome less mad at him. "Oi Kagome, remember your class trip to that indoor zoo?" he asked.

Kagome giggled, the memory come back. "Yeah, in grade 5. We went to the ecosphere," she explained to her friends. "And one of the girls fell into the monkey when she was trying to feed a spider monkey. The little monkeys all tried to help her but eventually the workers came and saved her. She was having fun though, and was chasing one monkey around and playing tag and everything." She giggled again.

"Yeah," Inu-Yasha smirked. "The furry idiots were actually smarter and more mature then her class was."

"Hey!" Kagome protested, hitting her guardian on the sleeve. Then she paused and thought about it. "Actually, I suppose that's true." She giggled again.

"Kagome-chan?" By now Sango was just completely lost, wondering where this sudden topic came from. Miroku looked at his hand oddly, then at the elder, confused girl. "My Sango-chan, what did you put in those mochi cakes?" he asked. Sango blushed.

"I didn't put anything in them!" she stuttered, staring at the ground.

"And then Kashinaru-kun started chasing Osinigawa-sensei with that snake!" Kagome added, going down a memory lane that confused all listeners but her guardian. Shippo smiled as he watched the pair, grateful that Inu-Yasha managed to do something right for a change and thus saved the kitsune's skin. Shippo smiled, knowing from the experience he received from his father, plus his natural abilities as a fox, exactly the proper things to do and say when courting; of course he was far too young to understand them so he just made things up on the spot. At least his suggestions were sound and had no 'sits' or 'fox I'm going to bash your head ins' as a result. At least Inu-Yasha took his advice and actually seemed to be getting somewhere. Then Shippo heard the familiar clang of bone-meets-bone as Hiraketsou contacted with Miroku's skull. Shippo sighed.

Now if only the same applied to his task, then maybe the pervert might get more then an 'eechi' and smack or baf or bang or clang or any other type of otomatepia from girls. 

Naraku had been sitting in his quarters for the good part of the day, studying the small object in from of him. It shone with a faint, rose-colored glow as it sat on the pedestal the demon had made for it. The jewel had been on the pedestal for a good week since Kagura had brought it and The Master hadn't touched it the entire time it had been there. Instead he had been sitting in front of it, bathed in it's pale aura while meditating. The Shikon no Tama had not changed colour since it's first arrival in Hell and still had a slight stain of Kagome's blood on it.

Kagura watched her master's habits through her elder sister's mirror, confused. Since she had brought the jewel in Naraku hadn't touched it, cast spells on it, nothing. She and Kanna and any other demons weren't allowed near where Naraku was, which only led Kagura to believe that something big was bound to happen. Kanna blackened her mirror, blocking the wind demon's view of The Master. Kagura sighed and sat back, trying to figure out what the hell was really going on.

"Kagura." Her thoughts were interrupted by Naraku's calling of her name. Quickly she stood up and went over to the door. "Yes Master?" she asked, trying not to sound tired and angry.

"Come in and don't waste my time." Came Naraku's reply. Kagura stepped in, muttering under her breath. She stood by the door, watching her master as he sat in front of the Shikon no Tama, which still shone, though dully in the depths of Hell.

"Kagura." Naraku said a again, brining the wind demon's attention swiftly to him. "Pick up the jewel."

"Excuse me?" Kagura blinked. Why in the twelve hells was he asking that?

"Just do as I command. I need not tell you my reasons." Naraku said, anger apparent in his voice. He glanced over a series of jars and Kagura followed his gaze, then looked back at him darkly. Taking the hint perfectly well she stepped up to the jewel and reached down. No sooner then her fingertips grazed the glowing sphere did energy crackling from it, stinging her. She quickly brought her hand back and her master chuckled.

"As I thought," He said, disregarding her presence. "The young Reborn is stronger then I previously thought. Through the years that the Shikon no Tama has resided in her she has become stronger and has purified the jewel so much that even I, Naraku cannot touch it." He though quietly for a moment. "Kagura, I have an errand for you."

"Master?" Kagura asked in confusion.

Naraku did not look at her as he eyed the jewel. "This Naraku is powerful but even a demon as myself cannot touch the purity of this jewel. I will need to weaken it first with the blood of hatred and corrupted souls. Go now and return shortly."

Kagura frowned, glancing back at the pots again before she bowed. "As you wish Master." She said, turning around and leaving through the door and set to exit the castle.

Naraku allowed himself a slight smile as he stretched one hand towards the Shikon no Tama and let a few, thin strands of miasma drift towards the glowing jewel. As it touched the jewel released sparks, purifying the haze before the small amount of evil could react. Naraku concentrated his evil as he put both hands around the jewel and let the miasma surround it, causing the jewel to shudder as it purified the evil fog, it's glow paling as the smoke slowly enveloped it.

Kagome shuddered involuntarily as the group began to pack up their things to keep moving towards the village by the key. Shippo, who was perched on the girl's shoulder, felt the shudder and looked at Kagome in concern. "Is something wrong Kagome?"

"Just chills." Kagome said, waving it off, but a feeling of dread and cold had formed in the pit of her stomach. She swung her pack over her shoulder and stood up, nodding reassuringly.

"Come on gang, let's get going!" she said, raising a finger to the sky. "We're going to get to that key and solve this mess up once and for all!"

"That's the spirit Kagome-sama." Miroku smiled, getting up as well.

"We should be able to reach the village by tomorrow afternoon." Sango said, giving Miroku a warning glare as the monk quickly returned his hands to his sides. Kagome nodded brightly, smiling.

"Great. Then let's get going!" She said, moving forward.

Inu-Yasha watched her curiously, worry filling him. The only time Kagome ever acted this cheerful was when something was bothering her, and he knew for a fact that ghosts didn't get chills. She had been acting uneasy ever since the festival and though she assured them the wound on her side was from Kagura, she wouldn't say why the wind demon had attacked her or wounded her in the first place. Inu-Yasha only knew that if Kagura was involved it meant Naraku was too, and the half-angel knew he wasn't going to like anything the demon was planning, especially if it involved Kagome.

If he had known the demon's true intentions, he would have gone straight to Hell and hit the ground running. But instead he followed the group he had gotten himself tied up with, keeping an eye on his task and an ear out for demons, vowing to never let Kagome out of his sight again. The girl kept up her game attitude, this time managing to hide the shiver that went through her from even Shippo.

Naraku was smiling.

End Chapter 15

Another chapter, another step towards my insanity. GAH! English! The most accursed subject of all, even more accursed then math… Maybe I'll move to someplace where they don't need education. Like… uh.. Alaska! (no offence to any Alaskians. I'm Canadian, so I guess there's not much of a difference between us anyway, eh? -_-')

I don't know where Shippo gets his street smarts from, I mean the kid's like what, twenty? That's like six in human years! (spent one class working it out. Oh the sufferable, sufferable English…) I've just created Shippo as the little fountain of knowledge with a fluffy tail. Hee hee, fluffy tail.

Leave me alone, I'm tired.

Speaking of otomatepia, (how –do- you spell that anyway?) wouldn't 'behead' be a great one? Think about it: you're reading a comic and.. uh… Batman's running through the tunnels and some badguy's henchmen pop out and a fight ensues: Bif! Pow! Zap! Clang! Wipah! Behead!

Wouldn't that be great?

*notices everyone looking at her oddly and hides in a corner*

Okay… I'm shutting up now…

~Ama