Disclaimer: If I need to write this out, you need a mental check-up. -.-;;
"…" – speech
'…' – thoughts
--- - change in scenery or time
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--Previously, on The Sealed Garden:
{The hanyou shot him a suspicious look before pushing gently on the doors. As they began to walk through and into the garden, Inuyasha gave Miroku another withering scowl and allowed him to walk ahead.
'Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?'}
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Chapter ELEVEN:
The Plot Thickens
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"You know, this really is a nice place."
Inuyasha gave the man ahead of him a glare he couldn't see. He was beginning to rethink introducing Miroku to Kagome. Sure, the guy was his best friend, but this was Miroku here!
The man who couldn't seem to keep his 'cursed' hands off anything that seemed even remotely female. This was the guy who, before meeting Sango, asked every single woman he came across, to do him the 'honour' of bearing his child. He'd been out with more girls than Inuyasha could count.
Most didn't last the first date before running out of it, usually in hysterics.
The man had a certain charm that made him the centre of attention among the females. Then, of course, the girls got to actually know him…
The hanyou crossed his arms and glowered at Miroku's back. If he even tried to make a move on Kagome… it didn't matter that he couldn't touch her, but just one wrong word…
Inuyasha shook his head and followed his friend, who by this time, was walking around the entrance area of the garden. The first thing he did was approach the Goshinboku and study it.
"This isn't a normal tree, is it?" His voice shook the half-demon out of his dark thoughts.
"What?"
Miroku turned around. "I don't know why, but for some reason, this tree doesn't feel normal."
He frowned. "Feel normal? How the hell does a tree feel normal?" Inuyasha shrugged. "You're right though. The Goshinboku is some sort of 'spiritual tree'."
The man nodded and hopped down from the tall roots, strolling over to join Inuyasha. "So where's this lady friend of yours?"
"She'll come when she feels like it."
A dubious look on his face, Miroku thought over his words before saying them. "You mean to say that, we could be here for any given amount of time without her making an appearance?"
"She usually comes. She knows when somebody's in her garden." He made a face. "I can't tell you when she's coming, but it's only been half an hour since I last saw her."
A half amused, half-delighted expression flashed across Miroku's face before he rearranged it to seem passive. "Ah. I see. So you were alone with her just before I came?" He sat down on the grass-covered floor in the shade of the huge tree. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
Inuyasha closed his eyes and snorted. "You don't have to worry, monk. You didn't interrupt anything… because there's nothing to interrupt! Nothing's going on!" He plopped down next to him.
"Suuure." The human nodded at him knowingly. "Of course there's nothing."
Supremely annoyed, the hanyou cracked his knuckles. "How could we do anything, huh? She's a fucking spirit. She can't touch me, I can't touch her." Golden eyes flashed open. "So get your mind out of the damn gutter!"
"I'm sure you could have managed something."
Holding on to his thinning patience, Inuyasha laid back onto the grass. He could stand Miroku at any time except for when the topic was trained on anything involving himself and girls. For some reason, the man found it amusing to tease and annoy the hanyou about any female that happened to become associated with him.
Sensing his friend's escalating annoyance, Miroku wisely kept his mouth shut and merely shot another amused glance at him. A silent wind stole across the enclosed space, jingling the rings on the monk's staff as it went. His gaze sharpened.
"She's here."
Inuyasha shot up and looked around. "Where? I don't see anyone." His nose twitched. "I don't smell her either…" but then he drifted off as another gust of wind reached them. With it, drifted carried that familiarly pleasant scent... The hanyou looked at his friend, surprised. "How the heck did you know?"
But it wasn't Miroku who answered him. "Because he's a monk, and has trained spiritual senses. You're back early."
Two pairs of eyes travelled up to find a miko standing directly in front of them. Kagome wore an expression of amusement on her face at the identical surprised countenances on the both of their faces.
"Damn it, I hate it when you do that," sighed an exasperated hanyou. "Could you just give us a warning once?"
"He knew I was coming."
Having gotten over his initial surprise at finding the miko sooner than he expected, Miroku finally snapped to it and stood up. "Miko-sama, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Surprised, Kagome gave Inuyasha a look that he could read clearly: 'I thought he was the perverted one?' To Miroku, she bowed back. "Houshi-sama, please, call me Kagome." She made a face. "I don't like formalities."
As soon as she said that, a grin spread over the monk's face and he knelt before the startled miko. "Neither do I. In this case, please call me Miroku, my lady." Unable to take her hand in his, Miroku settled for clasping his own two hands together in front of her. "I must say that you are even more beautiful in life. I hope we can get to know each other better." He flashed a grin at her.
Slightly more suspicious, Kagome stepped back some. "It's nice to meet you too?"
He went on. "I would have suggested us to become intimately acquainted if it weren't for the fact that Inuyasha here has already put a claim on-!"
A clawed hand prevented him from finishing his sentence as Inuyasha pulled the human back. His face was slightly red from either embarrassment or anger, even though he had been certain that was going to happen. "I told you the bastard was perverted."
Miroku freed himself from his friend's grip. "I'm sorry, but my parents were married."
Confused eyes alighted on him. "What does that have to do with anything?"
He crossed his arms. "The dictionary defines 'bastard' as a person born to parents not married to each other." Miroku nodded sagely, not shaken in the least by Inuyasha's interference. "Therefore, I am not a bastard."
"And I don't give a damn."
The human opened his mouth to make a remark, but a female voice made him pause.
"You two are friends?" The miko was staring at them incredulously. "I have never seen such behaviour between friends!"
"Best friends." Miroku smiled his signature grin again, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect on her. He shrugged. "It's a male thing."
Inuyasha snorted. "Ignore his habits. He can usually control himself when Sango's around, but now…"
"But now, my darling's in the city and she's thrown me away in a fit of unprecedented anger." He faked a tragic expression and put a hand over his heart. "Alas, she is behaving strangely." His eyes were rolled up towards the sky.
Inuyasha whacked him mildly over the head. "Get a hold of yourself."
Kagome blinked at them and backed away a little. "Okay… So why are you back so soon?" She directed the question at the hanyou who was shaking his head at his friend's antics. "And why is he with you?"
"He showed up on my doorstep 'cause his girlfriend threw him out, and now he's living here-"
Miroku recomposed himself and stared at Inuyasha coolly. "Because it was your fault in the first place."
"Whatever," the half-demon shrugged it off, "so there's nothing else to do, and I decided to introduce you two."
The spirit raised an eyebrow and lowered herself to sit near the both of them. "Well, Miroku-sama, from how Inuyasha described you, I must say you're not quite what I expected." Blue eyes surveyed him with a light curiosity. "I expected somebody more… promiscuous."
Inuyasha snorted, attempting to mask it with a fake sneeze.
The human raised an eyebrow at the hanyou and folded his hands calmly. "Perhaps my friend exaggerated my… err… unusual habits, but I do have a certain reputation." His smile turned slightly sheepish. "But what can I say? My hands are cursed."
Kagome looked at him in surprise. "They are? I didn't know that… Is there some way to dispel the curse?"
"Kagome-sama, I am truly touched by your concern." His head bowed. "But you can't help me, unless you could do me the pleasure of bearing my child…"
She reeled back. "What?! What an unusual curse… and an unusual counter-curse…"
The preciously silent half-demon coughed, drawing the attention of his companions. "As I said, ignore the pervert. He does that to every girl he meets." He shook his head sadly. "His hands aren't cursed. It's his habit and how he picks up girls." Inuyasha shot a warning glance at Miroku. "If Sango were here…"
The human grinned. "If Sango were here, I wouldn't have to worry about asking Kagome-sama to bear my-" He was interrupted by a handful of grass that was aimed deftly for his mouth.
"Too much information." Inuyasha scowled. "Keep that to your own damn self."
Kagome watched the proceedings with a bored interest before cutting in. "Wasn't there a reason why you came back?"
Miroku, wiping his face free of grass, turned to face the miko, serious for the first time since meeting her. "Yes, in fact there is." He touched the base of his staff and remarked with an offhand casual air, "The Shikon no Tama."
The girl's eyebrows rose and she glanced over to Inuyasha. "You told him?"
"A little."
She turned back to the monk. "What do you know about the jewel?"
"Not much, except for the fact that it was wanted by all demons for its awesome power. It had the ability to increase the magical and physical properties of any living thing, but in exchange, it drew energy from the host's soul."
The other two listened closely to him, "I didn't know that." Kagome looked at him curiously. "I was just in charge of purifying the jewel, but neither Akuba-san, Omake-baa-san or Kikyou told me any of that."
Miroku looked at her inquiringly. "Who?"
"The one who gave me the jewel, my village elder and my instructor and friend." Kagome waved it off. "I'll tell you later."
"Right." The monk closed his eyes in thought. "The jewel of four souls, I know it was created from a battle between a miko and many youkai. I know that their souls were trapped within the jewel-"
"How do you know all this?" Inuyasha frowned. "I just learned a couple of days ago, but you…" He stared at him.
Violet eyes opened. "My friends, it really is too bad Sango isn't here. I'm sure she could tell us a lot more."
"Why would Sango know all this?"
Miroku ignored the hanyou and instead, directed a question to Kagome. "From where did you receive the jewel?"
"Four representatives came from a far away village-"
"A village of exterminators?"
She nodded. "Did Inuyasha tell you that?"
"No." The light clicked in Inuyasha's head. "Of course." He saw Kagome's questioning look and elaborated. "Sango's background can be traced to an extremely old, talented and proud village of demon exterminators. That's probably the village that gave you the jewel, and there would obviously be stories." He frowned. "Stories that were probably passed down from generation to generation."
"That's right." Miroku nodded. "I was studying ancient relics for Mushin when she mentioned the Shikon no Tama. I thought it was just a legend, but now…" His expression was serious. "Now, with what's been happening, there seems to be a lot more in connection with the jewel."
"How so?"
The monk turned to Inuyasha. "You haven't been keeping up with daily news, have you?"
The hanyou gestured around him. "How the hell was I supposed to do that? The cable's been cut off and it's not like I have newspaper deliveries." He shook his head. "Besides, I'm too busy with the past to know about the present."
Miroku studied the shadows of the tree leaves on the ground. "Then you wouldn't know about the mystery surrounding the death of a man called Kagewaki Hitomi?"
Inuyasha's ears twitched. "Who's he? And why the hell would I care?"
Miroku closed his eyes, drawing up the facts. "Kagewaki Hitomi was the heir to an extremely successful business corporation. He inherited it seven years ago when his father died of mysterious reasons." The monk raised his gaze. "The father had been killed through drinking poisoned tea. His son, at the time, was terminally ill with an unknown and therefore, incurable disease. However, just days before his father's death, Hitomi, the son, made a complete recovery- something about banishing the evil spirits that were cursing him." Miroku frowned. "The servants testified that the young mater was acting strangely after he was cured. He had a different personality and was searching for references to a certain jewel."
Kagome sat up. "The Shikon no Tama?"
"It wasn't certain at the time, but there's more to the story." The monk gripped his staff. "As I said, a few days after Kagewaki recovered, his father was discovered dead in his own room. The wife had died long before, and there were no other children in the Kagewaki family. Naturally, Hitomi was pronounced the heir of the family fortune and the business."
"So you think the guy killed his own old man?"
Miroku glanced at the hanyou. "It's possible, but this happened seven years ago. There's still more."
"Go on then."
"It was strange, how Hitomi took over the corporation. Originally, the business was devoted to inventing, improving and manufacturing electronic goods, but now, the man seemed to have developed an interest in combining spiritual artefacts with modern technology." He shook his head. "The money gradually drained out of the failing corporation. He had to sell many of his the patents and close down several of his factories. He kept on withdrawing from his bank account until Kagewaki was left with little over a million yen."
"That's still a hell of a lot of money."
The monk shook his head. "But it wasn't enough to run a business as large as his own." Miroku paused. "Here's where it gets more personal in relation to you, Inuyasha."
The half-demon raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Kagewaki knew that his father had had business deals with another head of a major corporation… Mamoru Corporations."
Inuyasha frowned. "My father's business?"
"That's right. Originally, your father and the elder Kagewaki had been associates to another minor company before separating and creating their own enterprises. They had remained in contact for a while, but when your father died and Sesshoumaru took over, the bridge between Mamoru and Kagewaki Corporations disintegrated."
"No shit. Sesshoumaru wouldn't want to deal with humans."
Kagome had remained silent throughout, but now broke her silence. "Sesshoumaru is your elder brother?"
"Elder half-brother," corrected the hanyou. "He really doesn't like humans, and therefore, he hates me." He snorted. "Like I care."
Miroku sighed. "He doesn't hate you."
"Damn straight he does."
"Then why did he pay for your university tuition?"
"Keh."
"Why did he even bother to contact you and give you a home when he could have left it alone? You wouldn't have asked him about your father's will- he could have kept this place, or sold it for a hefty price."
Inuyasha shifted. "Whatever."
"Whether you like it or not, you're related through the blood of your father, and that's going to count for something."
"Miroku-sama's right."
The hanyou turned a betrayed gaze to Kagome. "You're supposed to be on my side!"
She crossed her arms. "You're related, and whether you're half-demon or not, you're still brothers." She turned to Miroku. "Please go on."
"Thank you, Kagome-sama." He cleared his throat. "When Kagewaki Hitomi realised he was in financial trouble, he searched through his father's contacts and came up with Mamoru Corp- A major competitor, but that also meant a lot of money that he could borrow. It didn't matter to him that it was run by a demon- so long as he would benefit from the acquaintance."
"This man's a suspicious character."
"Too right," confirmed the monk. "He scheduled an appointment with your brother, but Sesshoumaru wouldn't lend the money. What the exact sum was, you're going to have to ask yourself, but it was a huge amount and your brother was probably certain that he would never see it again, given Kagewaki's past record. Kagewaki tried some other sources, but none of them would lend the money."
"Big surprise."
"But there's more."
Inuyasha sighed. "How much more?"
The human ignored him. "Just six days ago, Kagewaki Hitomi was found dead in his office."
Kagome cocked her head. "Suicide?"
"That's what the police- you know what police are?"
"Yeah, she knows what police are. I told her." Inuyasha waved it off. "Go on."
"Yes, well, that's what the police thought too, but an autopsy report turned up other results." Miroku shook his head. "They discovered that the body they had found had been dead for the past approximate seven years." He paused to assess the reactions.
Inuyasha's frown deepened and Kagome seemed confused. "That's not possible, is it? For seven years to have passed by- the body would have rotted long before then!"
"Scientists found cell ruptures in the flesh, organs- everywhere. That pointed to the fact that the body had been frozen. When the water content in the cytoplasm reached freezing point, the molecules expanded and pierced the cell membrane- or so the report said. I don't remember much from high school biology."
"That's sick." The hanyou scowled. "That's just twisted."
The miko bit her lip. "So somebody killed the man and just threw his body into a… what's it called? A…"
"Freezer?" suggested Miroku.
"Yes. They just stored the body into a freezer? Why didn't they just get rid of it?"
The man shook his head. "I have no idea. But the thing is, if Kagewaki had been dead for the past seven years, then who was posing as him? Who could have such skill as to commit double murder, hide it and impersonate the younger for seven years before finally giving it up?"
Inuyasha cracked his knuckles absently. "That's all gruesome and disgusting, but what does it have to do with us?"
"Patience, Yash." Miroku wagged a finger at him. "I'm getting to it." He straightened his back. "The thing is, when the real Kagewaki's body was found, the investigators couldn't find anything pointing to the murderer except for the work he'd been doing for the past few years. When they looked through the research, the man- supposing it had been a man and not a woman, had been doing, they found little to nothing."
"The guy took at the information with him?"
Kagome made a face. "Just like a parasite. Took everything from his host before leaving."
"True. However, there was one sheet of paper that the police did find. It was small and almost not worth the attention, but guess what was written on it?"
The half-demon shrugged. "What, 'Shikon no Tama'?"
"Exactly."
The word was met with silence. The three looked at each other with a slight unease before Kagome voiced what everybody was thinking: "This person went through all of that just to find one jewel? He killed and…" She drifted off, shaking her head.
"It's sick but true. I said that the jewel was a powerful motivator for humans and demons. It's not known if this guy is a demon or a human, but not a lot of people should know about the Shikon no Tama. Its legend died out a few centuries ago. Even the police were stumped until somebody came up with the information on the thing."
Something jogged in Inuyasha's memory and he frowned, trying to find that elusive train of thought. "Just how many people actually know about the jewel?"
Miroku scratched his head. "Well, this case isn't taking the front page of the newspapers because there haven't been any new discoveries. I'd think that, apart from the police force, Sango and us, nobody should know about this thing. The thing sort of faded away from the minds of people."
"But if that's true…" The half-demon's frown deepened. "What does the jewel look like, again?"
Kagome answered, "It was a pinkish lavender or a dark violet- depending on its purity."
"And it was a marble?"
"Yes."
Inuyasha sucked in a breath of air. "I remember something- I don't know why I didn't before, but now it's…"
"What?" Miroku stared at him.
"Just a few days after I moved in, this guy came and asked me for a… marble or something." He frowned. "He said that he'd lost it on my property and that he'd had an agreement with my mother's parents that if it was found, it would be returned to him." Inuyasha shook his head. "He said it wasn't worth a lot of money, but had a lot of importance to him…"
"Was he talking about the jewel?" Kagome sat up, suddenly attentive.
"He didn't mention the name, but the description… an exact match, I think."
Miroku's grip tightened on his staff again. "What did he look like?"
"I don't know… black hair- long black hair, tied back. He looked kind of girlish. Red- no, brown eyes."
"Red?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "I thought he'd had red eyes, but they were brown. He was really weird and creepy."
"This coming from you…" Miroku sighed. "Did you get his name?"
"He told me, but I don't remember. I wanted to get away from the guy as soon as I could." Inuyasha scowled at the exasperated look on the monk's face. "It was N- something. I don't know."
"Not Kagewaki?"
"No, definitely N-something. He did give me his phone number-"
Miroku hopped to his feet. "He did?"
"-but I tossed it."
The man slumped back down to the ground. "Great. You gave away our lead."
"What lead? You're making it sound as if we're detectives or something." He shook his head. "This murder doesn't concern us right now. We don't even have proof that this guy was even close to finding the jewel."
Kagome shook her head in agreement with the hanyou. "Forget about this mysterious visitor. We're just going to have to be more careful now. With the guy, the murderer and Kagura trying to get the jewel, it's going to be a lot more dangerous."
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Yes, about this Kagura, explain. She attacked you?"
The miko stretched out and stood up, deciding to hover a few feet above the ground. Inuyasha snorted at the surprised expression on his friend's face.
"Two days ago, a wind demon by the name of Kagura blew herself into the garden." Kagome began the explanation. "She and Inuyasha exchanged a few insults before she demanded the Shikon no Tama." She scowled. "One thing lead to another, and he drew Tetsusaiga against her. She threw her wind blades around with her fan and could control twisters as well. Inuyasha got beaten up-"
"Hey!"
Innocent cerulean eyes turned to him. "But you were."
"I was not beaten up by a girl."
"You were too."
"Was not."
"Were too."
"Were too". Inuyasha attempted the old trick.
"Were too."
"Damn!"
"Children! Children!" Miroku intercepted the bout. "Please! Whether Inuyasha was being beaten by a girl isn't important." He turned to Kagome. "Now, what happened after Inuyasha was whipped by Kagura?"
The hanyou protested, but was ignored. "I shot an arrow at Kagura-"
"And missed her, I might add."
"- and she turned to me. I distracted her, and after a while, Inuyasha sent some sort of attack towards Kagura."
"What kind of attack?" Miroku turned to the half-demon. "What did you do?"
Inuyasha scowled and crossed his arms. "I closed by eyes and smelled something funny, so I cut it." He found dry gazes imposed on him. "What?"
"How… eloquent, Yash. Some more detail, please."
The hanyou sighed. "I could smell where her Youki was clashing with the wind, and so I cut across the rift." He turned thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I couldn't smell it before- that was probably because she was controlling the wind patterns and they hid her demonic energy."
"Perceptive."
"Right… and then after I cut it, an attack flew for her. I don't know really, what it was- sort of like blades of energy. It would have been a direct hit if it weren't for the swarm of bees."
"Bees?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "When the blades were going to hit her, these huge, demonic bees flew in her way and took up most of the attack. All the bees were wiped out, but Kagura was alive and she flew away on a feather. Kagome says she was half-naked, and-" He paused at the suddenly tortured look on Miroku's face. "What?"
"I missed a half-naked girl?"
He earned a blow to the head.
The half-demon turned to Kagome. "You believe me now when I say he's lecherous?"
She nodded without hesitation. "Anyway, you could only see her back. There was a spider mark there."
"A spider mark?" Miroku quickly recovered. "How big of a spider mark?"
The girl thought about it. "It didn't take up her entire back, but it was pretty big. It was on the centre of her back and maybe, about this size." Kagome made an approximation with her hands.
"A tattoo?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. We didn't bother to ask."
"Ah." The monk let out his breath and frowned in thought. "I remember reading about a Kagura once."
"And?"
He focused onto Inuyasha. "I was looking through my family scripts that Mushin kept in the temple," he turned to Kagome, "Mushin is a monk who took care of me when my father died. He is in charge of a Buddhist temple at the edge of the city." She nodded. "I found that, a few centuries ago- I don't know when, one of my ancestors encountered a powerful demon who went by the name of, Kagura."
"How long ago?" The half-demon continued, "If this is the same demon, then just how old is she?"
"I don't know. None of the scrolls were dated until the mid-eighteenth century." Miroku frowned. "But you have to remember that demons that existed long ago had far more powerful senses and abilities than the modern demon. The old youkai had lengthened lives- some say they were even immortal. Due to the development of technology, the modern demon is actually quite weak in comparison to the past ones."
"Whatever."
"And the same goes for human and their spirituality." Miroku looked over to Kagome. "You have immense spiritual powers- far more advanced than mine."
She half-shrugged.
"But moving on, I believe the note was from the feudal era," he inclined his head to the miko. "It described the demon, Kagura, as being a 'powerful sorceress with control over the four winds.' It said that she worked for an even more powerful master. My ancestor had a confrontation with her, and there was something about a curse, but the rest of the scroll was illegible."
"A curse?"
Miroku shrugged. "That was the last scroll kept for several decades, and the next one, I believe was written several decades after the scroll mentioning Kagura. It said something about a 'kazaana'- a curse laid upon every generation of my family line."
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "A curse? So maybe you are cursed…"
"Kazaana? A wind tunnel?"
The monk shook his head. "That's all I could find. I tried looking for more information, but there wasn't any." A small smile broke his serious expression. "But I'm clearly not cursed with this 'kazaana', right? My ancestor probably found a way to lift it."
"Keh."
There was another lull in the conversation.
"It seems like we've hit a dead end," sighed Kagome.
Miroku nodded. "Seems like it."
"So what are we going to do, wait?" demanded Inuyasha. "Damn it, isn't there something we can do?"
The human turned and affixed him with a stare. "Well, there is one thing…"
"Which is?"
"But you're not going to like it."
Inuyasha cracked his knuckles impatiently. "What is it?"
Miroku carefully skirted around the subject, "For one, I could put some ofuda spells around the garden to prevent lower levelled demons from breaking in, which shouldn't be too much of a problem." He looked at Kagome. "Do you know where the jewel is?"
Her expression was blank. "No. I've never bothered to look. For all I know, it could be destroyed."
"Okay, then. I'll just put some spells over the entrance at each corner of the wall. That should be sufficient. So you can be sure that the garden will be protected."
Inuyasha nodded slowly. "And…?"
"And I'll try to call Sango." Miroku shuddered slightly. "Hopefully, she'll be calmer and won't think of taking my head," he flinched, "but I'll find some way to get her to come here."
"Better you than me."
The man cast Inuyasha a dry look. "Thanks so much, but that's not all. Kagome-sama will be here, of course. I will be risking my life to lure my girlfriend here, and you will be…"
"I will be…?"
Miroku hid a smile. "You, Inuyasha, will be talking to your brother."
As expected, the response wasn't a pleased one.
"What?!" Inuyasha flew to his feet, towering over his serene friend. "What did you say?"
"You will be talking to your brother," was the calm repetition.
Golden eyes burned at the man. "And why the hell would I do that?"
"Because… Sesshoumaru could have valuable information." Miroku stood up as well, and in doing this, he stood an inch or two taller than the half-demon. "One, he'll probably know more about Tetsusaiga than you do. Two, he's had correspondence with Kagewaki. Three, he might know something about the Shikon no Tama, and four, he is the Lord of the Western Lands."
"… what?" Inuyasha's anger was diminished by his shock. "Lord of…?!"
Miroku jingled his staff. "I asked Sango before she threw me out, about the demon political rankings. She told me that in the past, these were extremely important and the Lord of a specific land or area was in charge of their subjects. They maintained the peace among the lands and created alliances with other Lords. There were wars." Miroku shrugged. "I don't really remember much."
"I do."
The men turned to Kagome. "What?"
She looked at them coolly. "I remember hearing something about the demons lords from a passing traveller in our village. He said that the demon lords were mostly wanderers, patrolling their lands and making sure that everything was functioning. They held their rank over the lower levelled demons that were expected to pay respect to the Lord of the area. It's passed on through bloodline."
Miroku nodded slowly. "And I think Sango said that the title Lord of the Western Lands has always been in your family-"
"And why didn't she tell me?" Inuyasha demanded, "She hung out with us how many times, and she never mentioned it?"
The monk shrugged. "Well, really, it doesn't hold much importance anymore. All it is, is a title. It's just that as long as the current Lord is in control, he can keep the peace among the demons, and stop them from revolting. Besides, technically, you aren't the Lord. You have 'royal' blood, but the firstborn is the true Lord."
"Damn." Inuyasha scowled and crossed his arms. "Sesshoumaru?"
"Yeah."
He glowered for a while before picking up the topic again. "But still, why do I have to talk to him? Why can't you do it?"
Miroku sighed. "I could come with you, but I doubt that your brother would want to listen to such a lowly human as I." He shook his head. "You, at least, he might listen to. He may be a little petty-"
The hanyou snorted "A little?"
"-but he does know it when something is important."
Inuyasha thought about it for a few seconds before expressing his opinion with a solid answer.
"No."
"What?"
"I said, no. I'm not going to Sesshoumaru for information."
Miroku let out a frustrated breath slowly, trying to calm his nerves. "And why not?"
"Because I don't want to-" Inuyasha was interrupted by a person who suddenly appeared in front of him.
"You are going, and that's that." Kagome glared at him. "You've been whining about not having something to do for the past days, and now you have a job. You are going to speak to your brother. You are going to forget this stupid dislike you have, and you are going to be civil to him."
Eyes wide, Inuyasha was muted by her sudden show of authority and only nodded dumbly.
Grinning and genial once more, the girl turned around to face a surprised Miroku. "It just took some persuasion."
The monk nodded and cracked a smile. "Well, it looks like somebody's finally training the dog."
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Inuyasha snapped out of his stupor and glared at the monk. "Are you calling me a pet?"
Kagome floated past him and casually uttered a single word, "Sit."
The hanyou flinched, sending her spiralling into a bout of giggles.
Miroku raised an eyebrow. "What-"
"Never mind." He wasn't keen on the man knowing about what had happened. If he knew, than he would never hear the end of it. "Fine, I'll see the bastard…" he caught Kagome's look. "… er… my half-brother." Golden eyes sharpened onto Miroku. "But you're coming with me."
The man shrugged. "As long as you do the talking." A corner of his mouth lifted.
Inuyasha glowered at the smirking man and laughing spirit.
They were teaming up against him.
He knew it'd been a bad idea.
But it was too late now.
Review Responses:
-- hanyou elf
Yup. Isn't Miroku just a charmer? Fluff… I'll try. Not a big romance writer (yet?), but I'll sure as hell try… but not so much that it'd send you to the dentist. . She sits him whenever she wants to. It's not rosary, but her powers that's making him go splat. The 'psychic' powers. So, whenever she wants him to 'sit', he, well, sits. =)
-- Fiery Demon Fox
Lovers? Why would you assume that? ::innocent grin:: Amazing, isn't it? Just two mentions of 'Kouga' and you've made a guess… whether it's right or not… will be revealed later. =)
-- WhiteDloud
Love or loved or will love… it's all too confusing, right? But as I said to Fiery Demon Fox, more will be revealed later! XD
-- Sarcasm Girl8
'Ja', I suppose, is short for 'Ja ne'(or is 'Ja ne' an extended 'Ja'?), which is like 'See you later.' =)
-- Izayoi
So true. No physical body = no groping. But Miroku always find some way to be the lovable lech, no?
-- AngelMiko289
Kouga isn't technically in the story as of yet. There hasn't been any mention of him and Kagome being in love… yet. (did I just spill something there?)
-- Mental Monkey
Was your question answered in the chapter? If not, then, Miroku is Miroku, and whether they're best friends or not, his habits around unknown girls are questionable when Sango's not around. You could say he's trying to curb his 'curse', but habits are hard to break, right? Besides, people of the male gender tend to be a little less trustful with their male buddies on such topics- a stereotype, but oh well.
Inuyasha's shoes? They were near the entrance, right? And during that battle of 'epic proportions' (-.-;;), they could easily have been sliced apart by a random wind blade or the Kaze no Kizu.
Sango's acting weird for a reason, and no, she's not evil. Neither is Miroku. =D
Kouga is in the story because… I didn't want to create an original character. Simple as that. But don't worry… everything'll work out in the end, but until then, I'd better watch out for homicidal readers… =)
.
Many thanks to:sapphire pink (Doesn't he always?)
November Dusk
Ryngrl5 (Now what would make you say that…? ; ))
Kagome SengokuCJ-Chan
Samieko (Strawberries are good…)
darkscorpio28
remix69-er (I hesitate to ask about your penname… -.-;;)
bubbles
Poison Death Tree
LadyAkina
Translations:
Goshinboku – god tree (didn't I do that one already?)
Houshi – low levelled monk
Kazaana – 'air rip' translated as 'Wind Tunnel' in the dubbed English version of the anime
Ofuda – a charm, seen as strips of paper with spells (scribbles…) written on them
[Edit: I noticed that I spelled 'Mushin' as 'Munshin' in the previous chapter. I would change it, only it's too much of a hassle. I'll correct it and comb through the entire story eventually, but right now, I'll look to finishing it first, ne?
Horrible trouble picking out a title. Next chapter will be later than usual, what with the piano and theory examinations. It shouldn't be too late- maybe two weeks' worth of a wait? This chapter was a little choppy. I'm anxious right now. Sorry about the slight lateness- I actually had this chappie typed up yesterday, but couldn't get online (dial-up: -.-;;) long enough to post it. The beginning was not as good as I wanted it, but it'll do.
I noticed that many of your are extremely perceptive… picking up on just two appearances of the name 'Kouga'. Bravo!
By the way, I've started another story (oh no!) since I have passed the halfway point for this one. 'The Hunt' and File 1 should be out soon (in a few minutes). Less frequent updates for that one though.
Till next time…
Ja!]