Shikon no Miko

By: Karisutaru-chan

Author's note: I do not own any of the characters in this story and it was written just for fun.

RATED R for language and future adult situations.  Reader discretion is advised.
Please send reviews to karisutaruchan@yahoo.com . Thanks! Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Punishment, Plan and Price
She saw the rocky mountain cliff in the distance, and as she flew closer, the temple etched in the side of the cliff soon became visible.  She prefered this new 'home' over the previously vacated palace and had Naraku not been housed there, she would have probably made it her permanent hideaway.   But it seemed that the kami's of fate had other plans for her and she would have to endure Naraku's presence a while longer….though she never gave up hope that she would one day be free—free like the wind under her control.

She descended through the barrier that kept the temple hidden from enemies and made her way to the main grounds.  Gracefully, she leapt off her feathered kuruma and touched down softly as she placed the now transformed feathered vehicle into the tightly woven bun in her hair.  As she nonchalantly looked around, she saw her older sister Kanna sitting in a sakura tree, her blank expression staring into her mirror.  As Kagura walked towards her sister, Kanna's gaze shifted from her mirror to herself and she began to wonder.  

" Oi, Kanna, nanda ?"

Kanna simply pointed to something in the distance behind Kagura, not saying a word.  Kagura knew she wasn't going to get anything else out of her normally quite sister and decided to take a look to see what she was pointing at.   What she saw made the two emotions she hated the most spark to life and twist like snakes around her neck and squeeze, suffocating what little life she had left from her very being—the emotions anger and fear.   Before her stood the being that literally held her heart in the palm of his hand, the being that gave her life and kept her a prisoner….. Naraku. 

If her heart was in her chest, she would have felt it stop as she gazed into his cold, unyielding, cruel eyes.  She couldn't stifle the reflexive gag in her stomach that resulted every time she saw him, and she instinctively began to back away, sensing that he was angry about something.  Before she could do anything though, a young boy stepped from behind Naraku and began grinning at her.

'What is your problem?' she thought to herself vindictively as her frightful gaze shifted between Naraku and the child-like creature standing next to him.  Even though he was also a detachment of Naraku, her dislike for him was almost equally as great as her hatred for Naraku .  She had not totally unraveled the secrets surrounding this young child as of yet, but she was sure he was the key to destroying Naraku for good.   Hakudoshi was the name given to him, and seeing him standing next to Naraku like that, one could not ignore the similarities in their appearance.   If they were mortal humans, there would be no mistaking them as anything but father and son.  Kagura's attention was snapped to Naraku as he spoke in his familiar cruel tone.

" Kagura, where were you, you're late?" he said as a small curve formed at the end of his mouth. 

"I just took my time getting back…." Kagura began, but her explanation was soon cut short by a sudden pain in her chest.   Kagura fell to her knees, her right hand coming up to clench her chest in pain.   She had felt this pain before; it was a constant reminder of her ties to Naraku and the reason why she was stuck with him.  When she finally lifted her head up to meet his gaze, lo and behold was the source of her torment in his right hand.  Naraku's cold eyes never left hers as he showed her that he held her beating heart in his hand.  He even smiled a bit more as he slightly added some pressure to it as the sounds of Kagura's screams echoed throughout the temple grounds. 

"Bitch, don't lie to me.  I told you what would happen if you defied me again.  Would you like to once again become a part of this Naraku ?"

"I….I…. ju…just…..sa ….saw…..s…so….some….thing….on….my…..way…..back…" Kagura choked out her answer as the pain she was in kept her from speaking coherently.

"What did you see…" Naraku continued.

But before Kagura could choke out another answer, Kanna appeared at her side, her mirror in hand displaying a scene that caught Naraku's attention.   The image reflected in the mirror was an image of Inuyasha and his usual band of travelers with three interesting additions.   Sesshoumaru, his toad of a retainer and the little human girl he kept with him were all in the same place, and a very interesting place at that—the gateway to the boundary between this world and the next.  And wait, it gets better; it seemed they were trying to get past the gateway, to retrieve the final Shikon shard.

Now this had several implications to Naraku; on the one hand it's good news because the final shard could be retrieved after all, but on the other hand, it would mean that Inuyasha would get his grimy little claws on it first.   But, then again, it's not like he hasn't been able to strip Inuyasha of jewel shards before so it wouldn't be impossible to take it from him—however, it might be somewhat difficult.   Then again, he could factor in his favorite past time of torturing Inuyasha and probably kidnap that Kagome girl (now that he doesn't have Kikyou for leverage anymore) and make him give up the jewel shard, and hey, if Inuyasha just happens to die in the process, it's an extra bonus.   But seeing that he was so close to possessing the complete Shikon no Tama he would rather not have a long draw out battle over this so it may be easier to just swipe it from them as soon as they return from the other side. 

"So ka.   That's what you saw.  Kagura, you are lucky your little discovery pleases me…" and with that, Naraku released his hold on her heart and drew it back into his body, you know, for safe keeping.   He then turned to Hakudoshi and gave him instructions regarding the retrieval of the final jewel shard.  

"Go again to the gateway and steal the shard from Inuyasha and take Kagura with you."

With that, Naraku disappeared into the temple with Kanna behind him to watch the festivities in the safety of his sanctuary.   Hakudoshi looked at Kagura with a disinterested expression.

"Hurry up, I don't want this to take too long."

It took all of Kagura's will power not to tear the little brat to pieces right then and there, but she knew that would only result in her chest hurting again.  She found that out the last time she attacked Hakudoshi out of anger after he led her to the gateway and almost had her turned into stone.  He and Naraku were connected, more so than Kanna and herself or any other detachment after them (well that's excluding Musa, but she hadn't figured him out yet).   As far as she was concerned his word was the same as Naraku's and she would have to be careful not to upset him.   However, she would still figure out the connection between them, and when she did, she would show Naraku how it felt to have his heart in some else's hands.

Without another word between them, Kagura lifted herself off the ground, and she and Hakudoshi ascended into the air on her feathered carriage toward the gateway.

*         *        *         *        *         *        *

They entered the cave and stood in front of the two stone guards that protected the entrance to the other side.  Kagome stood to the left of Sesshoumaru and looked at the faces of the demons bound eternally to guard this entrance from those who do not belong.  The guard to her right held a huge stone sword in his hand—the blade was broad and curved slightly at the end, similar to swords Arabian knights welded.   The other guard to her left held a lance-type weapon, a long rod with a curved blade at the end of it.  Both were standing with their weapons drawn in defense, ready to keep any intruders from passing through the gateway.   Suddenly, both guards began to stir; the sound of their stone bodies coming to life reminded her of an ancient stone gateway opening for the first time after centuries at rest.  The guard standing to her right began to speak first.

" Kono mon wa shisha shika toorenu tokoro." the first guard said.  The second guard to their left then spoke as well.

" Tooritaki mono wa , warera no te ni yori shiha to naru."

Suddenly, without any warning, both guards attacked and Sesshoumaru and Kagome both dodged out of the way just as their strikes hit the ground, splitting the earth beneath them.  Sesshoumaru recovered quickly and dodged another strike from the guards, effortlessly gliding out of the way, however, Kagome barely dodged the second attack and tripped on the ground falling on her back and hitting her head.  

'Dumb bitch, what a nuisance; she can't even take care of herself in battle.' Sesshoumaru thought to himself in annoyance.   However, upon noticing that Kagome wasn't going to be able to get up in time to dodge another strike from the guards, he decided it was time for him to step in.  Just as one guard was about bring his weapon down on Kagome, Sesshoumaru quickly flew to her side and grabbed her in his arm and landed a safe distance away.  Without even giving her time to thank him (or recover from the shock of his actually helping her), Sesshoumaru dropped her on the ground and drew his sword Toukijin.  He flashed past the guards, striking each of them with his sword, sending them tumbling to ground.   The sound of them hitting the ground was like hearing earsplitting thunder boom in the sky during a severe rain storm.   Just as he landed back in front of Kagome, each guard lifted themselves back to their feet, grins plastered on their faces at the futile attempt.

"Useless…" the guard holding the lance said.

Sesshoumaru simply smirked and placed Toukijin back in its hilt.   He then drew Tensegai, its energy pulsing through his body as he took several steps towards the guards, his familiar arrogance peaking through his calm expression.

"Is it now…" he began.  Kagome, having finally recovered from Sesshoumaru's 'rescue' got up off the ground and followed slowly behind him.

At this surprising new development, each guard lowered their weapons and fell down to one knee as the gate behind them began to slowly creak open.

"You may pass…" the first guard began.

"That sword can cut those not of this world, so naturally we can be cut by it as well." The second guard finished.

"Hmm….Now you see how futile YOUR actions are…" Sesshoumaru began as he then turned to Kagome.  "Let's go bitch, and make it quick."

Kagome did not hesitate and hurriedly followed Sesshoumaru through the gateway, though she had to seriously restrain herself from telling him off for talking to her that way.   'Who the hell does he think he is?   I mean, I know he doesn't like me because I'm human; Plus, I probably don't score any cool points with him either since I'm 'with' Inuyasha as he puts it, but that doesn't give him the right to talk to me like that!  Man, one of these days Inuyasha is going to put a foot up his ass, and he'll all but deserve it……Although, he DID rescue me a few minutes ago, but I'm sure that was just a fluke.  He still deserves to get his ass kicked!'

However, because Kagome valued her health, she decided to put her pride aside and keep her mouth shut.  There was no point in risking Sesshoumaru's wrath by starting an argument with him. He was NOT Inuyasha and she could not control him with a single word if he got out of line.

A/N: Translations of Japanese used in this chapter :
kami – god

kuruma – car, vehicle, carriage
Oi, Kanna, nanda? – Hey, Kanna, what's up/ watcha doin ' ?

Shikon no Tama – Jewel of Four Souls

So ka – I see

Musa – was the first attempt at Naraku separating himself from his human heart.  Musa was all that was remaining of the consciousness of Onigumo

Kono mon wa shisha shika toorenu tokoro. – Only the dead can pass this gateway.

Tooritaki mono wa, warera no te ni yori shiha to naru. – Those who wish to pass, will become dead by our hands.

Just for fun:   Can anyone guess what the Punishment, the Plan and the Price were in this chapter?  Send reviews and let me know...Ja minna-san!!