Disclaimer: As you know I won't own Inu-yasha or Ranma. They belong to Takahashi-san. And I'm not making any money whatsoever from this story.
Last chapter: Showing an incredibly large village, not city.
Ch 22: Answers, Questions, & A Key
They entered the village through the large wooden doors, trying not to draw to much attention to them. Well, Kagome and Ranma were, but no one seemed to mind. Some of the villagers gave them curious looks; probably wondering why strangers would enter their village.
They were walking down what seemed to be the main street since it was filled with busy villagers doing their errands and who-knows-what. The buildings living on the sides were businesses. Some buildings were made out of stone, wood, and glass. It seemed to be a bit of a mix of medieval Europe and feudal Japan. It was quite interesting to Kagome and Ranma.
Pushing their way through the crowds, they finally arrived at their destination.
"Here," Fannel said, waving his arm to a weapon and armor store.
"Fannel-san, I thought we were going to get new clothes, not armor," Kagome said, looking through the entrance.
The store was like any other: the structure was made out of wood and the inside was made from stone. Weapon cases showed gleaming katanas, butterfly swords, naginatas, push daggers, and many more wears. On the opposite wall was a suit of samurai armor, but different. Kagome couldn't tell what the difference was but the entire feel of the armor was different from the ones humans used.
Fannel entered, followed by Tsuchi, Kagome, and Ranma. He led them to the counter where a humanoid was leaning. He had lazy eyes that seem to droop from the lack of sleep. He had messy black hair tied in a ponytail.
"Fannel, I see you have guests," the person at the counter said in a bored monotone, glancing around the group. Fannel nodded.
"Kagome-dono needs knew clothes, Mra," Fannel said, indicating to Kagome. Mra looked Kagome over, but no expression passed his face.
"Nira, come!" Mra shouted. A girl around Kagome's age entered from the backdoor Kagome didn't notice. The door blended in very well with the walls.
The girl had dark hair that flared at the ends. Her eyes were the exact opposite of Mra: sharp and calm as she observed the group. Her dark brown eyes gave no insight of her thoughts.
"What is it, otou-sama?" Nira asked, looking over to her father.
"Help Kagome-dono pick out knew armor," her father said before turning his attention to other customers.
"Come this way," Nira said, gesturing with her hand to another part of the store. Kagome followed, but turned to look at the group. They weren't following. She nodded toward them and continued to follow Nira.
Nira led her through another threshold to another store that was connected to the weapons and armor shop.
"Nira-chan, why is this place here? I mean, isn't this village peaceful? Aren't all of the villagers demons?" Kagome inquired, looking into the dark eyed demon.
"Tradition and many of the residents' children leave for adventure. This village is located near to the four elements, so a large amount of elemental youkai like to live here. But many come and go, and travelers need to sometimes obtain new weapons and armor for their travels," Nira explained, looking at some fabrics.
"What do you specialize in?" she asked, fingering a silky black material.
"What do you mean?" Kagome was confused
"In battle, what do you mostly rely on? Speed, strength, defense, which one?"
"Well, I mostly use my bow and arrows. Ranma's teaching me martial arts for close range battle."
"Come here."
Kagome obeyed and closed the distance. Nira looked her over, making note of her knees.
"Your body structure is built for speed, but you went for strength instead," Nira told Kagome, circling around her. Before Kagome could ask she spoke again. "For archery you need good upper body strength to string a bow and release an arrow. And since you mostly worked with the bow, you didn't have the opportunity to train your speed so an armor to make up for your defense and light enough for maximum maneuvering and speed...
"What do you want your armor to be like?"
"What do you mean? I thought I was getting new clothes."
"Yes, you are, but the clothes we make are strong as armor," Nira said, her voice tinted lightly with annoyance and impatience. Kagome nodded and blushed lightly.
"Something that could blend well with a lot of environments, and has pockets to fit stuff like herbs, and maybe a knife."
"How 'bout this?" Nira suggested, holding up a one-piece armor. Kagome immediately declined after just glancing at it. The armor showed too much skin to her liking.
When Kagome looked away, something caught her eye. In the far wall of the store was a dusty, neglected corner full of ninja uniforms.
Seeing Kagome's stare, Nira led her to the corner. Then they began picking through the clothes.
Ranma and the others' View
It was about half an hour now. Fannel was chatting to Mra about something he couldn't care less about. Tsuchi was checking out the wares on sale. Ranma was looking around the store with mild interest. All he wanted to do no was get the key and get out of here as soon as possible.
"Ready!" chirped a voice from the other side of the store. Ranma immediately recognized the voice that belonged to Kagome.
Kagome stepped out so everyone could see her. Her new clothes were modified ninja clothing. Kagome had white leg warmers, old-fashioned socks with wooden sandals. Her top was dark blue with lavender trimmings. The shirt was sleeveless, and from the elbow and below her arms was wrapped in creamy colored bandages. Her pants only reached halfway down her thighs like her school uniform skirt, and were dark blue with lavender trimmings. On her waist was a red ribbon tied like a belt. (The outfit is like Misao from Rurouni Kenshin or Samurai X, but modified)
"What do you think?" Kagome asked, blushing because Ranma and Tsuchi were staring. Fannel was polite enough to look the other way.
Ranma nodded dumbly. Tsuchi quickly turned around before anyone could notice him blushing.
"Kagome, you said you also wanted a knife, so pick one," Nira said, gesturing across the store. Kagome nodded happily and began to look around.
Ranma, who had nothing better to do, joined her in her search.
"Ranma-kun, do you know how to use these?" Kagome asked, pointing to a rack that held samurai swords.
"Yea," Ranma said looking down at the case closest to them. The case was filled with different types of daggers.
"Then why don't you ever use weapons?" Kagome asked, lifting up a samurai sword. The scabbard was polished black. She unsheathed it a crack just enough to see the steel of the sword.
"'Cause I rather use my fists," Ranma said, shifting his gaze to Kagome. "I'll teach you how to use them if you want."
Kagome smiled at him, and re sheathed the sword completely. She slowly putting it back on the rack, as to not to disturb the other swords. She walked over to Ranma and began to drag him to another case the showed daggers and short swords.
"How 'bout that one?" Kagome said, pointing to a short sword. The sword was shorter than a ninja sword but longer than a dagger, around the size of a kodachi. The sheath was a blood red decorated with a black silhouette outlining an oriental dragon slithering along one of the sides. The sword that was inside was made from an unknown type of metal, but Kagome knew it wasn't made from Japanese steel. Near the hilt of the sword was the kanji for courage.
"There's an aura around it," Kagome said, louder than was necessary.
"So you feel it," Nira said, walking towards them. She opened the case and took out the sword Kagome pointed to. "Its name is Shin'yuu. Have it as a gift from me." She handed the sword to Kagome.
Kagome slowly took the sword. Something was strange about this one. All the others seemed to be pale in comparison to this sword. The aura around the deadly object was overpowering: it emitted comfort and strength. And when Kagome unsheathed the blade, it seemed to pulsate.
"All weapons made from a certain type of alloy choose their own users," Nira explained. "And Shin'yuu, the first of the blades made by me, has chosen you." She glanced at Kagome's expression.
"What do you mean; you made this?" Kagome asked, looking down at the blade in her hands. Nira only nodded.
"Keep it," she said simple as she attended to other customers.
"Thanks!" Kagome called as Nira disappeared behind the door she came from.
Suddenly Kagome remembered the conversation from the other night. She quickly walked over to the door and entered in.
The room was stifling hot. It was a back room for the weapon smith. Various tools to craft fine blades hung on the walls, a large was glowing fire in a corner, and in another corner were half completed swords.
Nira had her back turned to Kagome, rummaging through a pile of shurikens.
"Is there a problem?" Nira asked as she pulled out a four-pointed shuriken a bit larger than the palm.
"Well, I just remembered something and wanted to ask you about it. It's about a power I used some weeks ago."
"Of course," Nira said, finally turning around to face Kagome.
Kagome began to relate the story of the mushroom demon appearing and the knife she used with the purification technique.
"I see..." Nira trailed off. She seemed to be pondering the answer. "The simplest answer is, your miko powers and your demon powers are mixing. With each day that passes, you become more of the demon you transform into."
Kagome was silent. Her thoughts seemed to cease as Nira gave her answer. She was becoming more of a demon with each day she had the curse. After a few moments of shocked silence, Kagome shook her head, trying to get rid of the panicked haze that was in her mind.
"Come, Kagome," Fannel shouted as he exited the weapons and armor store.
"Hai!" Kagome called back. "Thank you for all you've done for me." She then exited the weapons' smith's room.
Kagome and Ranma quickly took after Fannel.
'Shin'yuu huh? True courage, odd name for a sword, sounds like something from an RPG' Kagome thought, walking beside Fannel. She was inspecting the blade until Fannel outstretched his arm, blocking Kagome's path.
"Here we are," Fannel announced, opening large wooden doors to reveal a dojo.
Tsuchi entered and immediately headed to the practice hall, mumbling something about sharpening weapons.
Fannel excused him and proceeded to the center of the dojo. Sliding a shoji screen open, it revealed something like a personal library. A low, dark brown table was in the center, and cream-colored cushions were surrounding it. There was rice paper, an ink block, and a brush lying on the table. Around the walls were bookshelves filled with scrolls.
Fannel gestured to the seats as he walked to the furthest bookshelf from the door. After a few moments of searching, he seemed to have found what he was looking for. Pulling out a scroll with black trimming, he put it down on the table before returning to the book shelf.
'Maybe Draconic has an alphabet.' Kagome thought, staring at the scroll. She changed her mind when she saw Fannel take out a metal box.
Fannel, after laying the scroll down, had turned his attention back to the cubical the scroll was held. The little compartment in the back of the cubical wasn't noticeable, since the outline of the door blended so well with the wood of the bookshelf. Fannel carefully opened the compartment and took out a five-by-three metal box.
He carefully placed the metal box on the polished table surface before pushing the rice paper, ink block, and brush to the side. He sat down, taking a small golden key from his breast pocket.
Kagome lifted her glance from the scroll to the metal box. On the box was a golden lock with intricate patterns of vines. It was something like an old European lock, the part with the key hold was on the base of the box, near the rim. When Fannel's hand neared the key hole with the golden key, Kagome realized that the key was in fact a skeleton key. The end of the key was a three leafed clover shaped opening, with a silver chain looped through it.
Fannel fit the key into the hole and turned clock wise. The lock clicked upon to reveal crumbled peach colored paper. Fannel turned the box around so that it was facing Kagome and Ranma. He pushed the box forward, sliding it on the surface without making a sound.
Kagome carefully took out the colored paper. In the middle of the leaflets of paper was something strangely like a magnifying glass. No, it wasn't a magnifying glass, it was similar to the pointers used with Ouji boards.
The pointer was in the shape of a triangle with a circular piece of glass in its center. The frame that held the glass was a dark colored, polished wood.
"All you need to do is put the key on the words. It will translate the characters when you look through the glass," Fannel stated. He unwrapped the scroll which he had earlier taken out. He opened it partially before laying it in front of Kagome.
The scroll wasn't written in Japanese, but another language. The words imprinted on the scroll were all symbols that left Kagome clueless.
"This is a draconic scroll of poetry. Why won't you test the key?" Fannel asked.
Kagome carefully placed the pointer on the first symbol. To her surprise, she read the kanji for dream when she looked through the glass.
"Draconic reads from left to right, just remember that," Fannel told them, standing.
He lead the way out of his home as Kagome and Ranma followed. They were at the gates when they bade their farewells.
Ranma, who had just watched the entire thing unfold, didn't make any comments. He carried the metal box containing the pointer, while Kagome was wearing the key around her neck.
They had entered the forest when Kagome finally realized the key was still exposed. She quickly tucked it into her shirt. After few more minutes of awkward silence while walking, Kagome fished through her mind for something to say.
"When are you going to start teaching me how to use Shin'yuu?" Kagome asked, turning her gaze at Ranma, who was spacing out.
"Huh? Oh, I guess whenever. I mean, I can teach you whenever you like," Ranma replied, turning his attention to Kagome. For some reason, he couldn't really concentrate now.
"How 'bout before dinner?" Kagome asked, glancing at the exit to the forest.
"Yea, sure," Ranma stated, kicking a tree branch that was in his path.
"Great! Then I'll make a delicious dinner tonight!" Kagome declared, running to the exit. "Hurry up!" she cried, waving towards Ranma with a smile plastered on her face. Even her eyes were smiling.
Seeing this, the corners of Ranma's mouth twitched and began to quicken his pace.
"C'mon!" Kagome said urgently, stepping out into the open. She twirled around, feeling free and enjoying the wide open space.
'She still looks cute, even in demon form.' Ranma thought, smiling sadly. The two began to walk to the cabin where the rest waited.
At the Cabin
It was high noon when the duo finally arrived.
After much praising from Sango, Shippo, and Miroku for Kagome's new clothes, they finally settled down.
"So do you have the key?" Inu-yasha asked, a bit annoyed. He was still envious that Kagome could become a full demon, though he didn't show it. But it seemed Kagome still sensed his true emotion.
"Yup!" Kagome chirped, not showing that she knew. She took the metal box from Ranma and unlocked it. She gently took out the pointer.
"That's it?" Inu-yasha asked incredulously, looking at the measly pointer.
"Yes, Inu-yasha," Kagome replied, unperturbed by his remark.
"It took you that long just to get that thing?"
"No, I also got new clothes and a sword," Kagome stated, still as happy as ever. She took out Shin'yuu which was tucked under the red belt on her back.
Sango unsheathed the sword from Kagome and carefully examined the blade.
"The craftmenship is amazing!" Sango praised. She handed it back to Kagome.
"Nira, the girl who made it, says its name is Shin'yuu," Kagome said as an after thought.
"Demo –[But]-, Kagome-sama, why would you purchase a new weapon? What about your bow and arrow?" Miroku asked.
"I'll still use those, but this would be good for close range battle along with my martial arts," Kagome explained, setting Shin'yuu back in its scabbard.
"Whatever," Inu-yasha said gruffly. "Let's start heading south. We still have half the day to travel."
Everyone silently agreed, and began packing their belongings.
6 hours later
The group had been following a river downstream for several hours now, and the sky was starting to turn orange. They had decided to camp about five meters away from the river where they wouldn't be easily seen.
"There's still about three hours of day light left; why won't I start teaching you?" Ranma said off handedly. Kagome happily obliged and walked away with Ranma.
The remaining group stared at their retreating backs in an awkward silence.
"I'm coming too!" Shippo shouted, running after them.
"What are we to do?" Miroku finally spoke up, breaking the deafening silence.
"About what, Houshi-sama?" Sango asked the monk.
"With Kagome's curse, how are we to collect shards, and defeat Naraku?"
"This is something we should discuss with Kagome-chan." Miroku nodded and became silent.
"That doesn't matter!" Inu-yasha spoke up. "We can search for shards while finding the cure."
No one replied. Inu-yasha said no more and turned the other way.
Kagome, Shippo, and Ranma's view
They walked to the river side in a matter of minutes. Shippo sat a good distance away from them to observe Kagome's training.
"Hey, Ranma-kun, how do you know how to use weapons? I thought you said your dad doesn't want you to use weapons 'cause they're for the weak," Kagome reminisced as she pulled out Shin'yuu.
"My mom taught me it before I left with my dad," Ranma said, looking down. "Hey, Shippo, can you find me a stick about Shin'yuu's length?"
"Sure!" Shippo said enthusiastically, running into a small cluster of bamboo trees that hid the camp site.
"You don't really talk about your mom. How is she?" Kagome asked, smiling gently.
"I haven't seen her for years but I know she's fine," Ranma replied quietly, staring at the bamboo cluster.
Shippo ran out of the cluster carrying a hollowed bamboo shoot slightly longer than Shin'yuu.
"It's the best I could find," Shippo panted, holding out the shoot. He stood on the tips of his feet offering Ranma the bamboo shoot. Ranma bent down and took the shoot before ruffling Shippo's hair and straightening himself.
"Okay, hold it like this," Ranma said, holding the pointed end downwards. Kagome followed his example. "Now practice the vertical and horizontal slashes."
After few more minutes Kagome mastered the basic stance and maneuvers.
Shippo was seated on the spot he sat on before and cheered for Kagome as she practiced. He was thankful that his adopted mother was kind and strong. Though he knew she was the reincarnation of the undead miko Kikyo and that she had taken a part of Kagome's soul, he was still grateful that after everything that had happened she was still alive and well. And since Kagome resented- no-despised Kikyo, Shippo did too.
Naraku's hide out
The black haired hanyou smirked as he was Kagome training with Ranma, via Kana's mirror.
"Kagura!" Naraku called for the wind user.
A tall figure wearing a white and red kimono entered the dark room.
"Get me that sword that's in the possession of the miko," Naraku commanded.
"But that human is with her," Kagura said, looking her master in the eye.
"I did not ask you to argue back. Now go."
Kagura could only nod and obey his order.
'Damn him,' Kagura thought spitefully, walking out of the compound. She drew out the feather in her hair and threw it into the air. The feather grew large into the shape of a canoe. She quickly jumped onto the feather and flew off to where the Inu-tachi would be resting.
She had been there when Kagome was in the village. She knew that sooner or later the miko would go there, and it would be a good opportunity to gather information.
From what she had seen, the sword was called Shin'yuu and made by a weapons smith by the name of Nira. She didn't know why Naraku wanted that damn sword so badly.
After few more minutes of flying, she came in site of the group. Descending slowly and hiding her youki, she watched them carefully.
Kagome and Ranma seemed to be finished with the lesson as they left along with the kitsune. It was already dark and they were heading back toward the direction of the rest of the group.
They were separated and tired, along with the kitsune who would hinder their performance in a real battle. This was the only time she could get the sword without a difficult battle.
Quickly running to block their path, Kagura dodge trees and made sure she didn't make a single noise. She stopped behind a tree as the trio neared her hiding spot. She suppressed her aura so the martial artist would mistaken her for a tree. Kagura took out her fan and waited silently.
Ranma looked at the tree beside him as he walked pass. Something was odd, but he didn't sense any one, so he just blew the idea off. He slowly turned his gaze back to the road, still feeling something was wrong.
Kagura calmly stepped out of her hiding place and released all holds on her aura. She quickly opened her white fan with a red design near the edge.
"Fuujin no Mai," she said, raising the fan and slashing downwards. Bright blue wind blades were spat out from the fan and ejected toward the trio.
Acting quickly, Ranma scooped up Kagome and Shippo and jumped out of the way as the wind blades cut down everything in its path.
Ranma set Kagome down and adopted a attack stance. In a blink of an eye, he appeared behind Kagura and was about to use the sleeper hold, but Kagura disappeared.
Kagura reappeared near Kagome, who unsheathed Shin'yuu to defend herself and Shippo. Kagura quickly knocked the sword from her hand with the help of her fan and with the other hand, she grabbed the sword as it made its descent to the ground.
Shippo yelped and fell backwards. He turned around and began to scramble back to his feet.
By then, Kagura disappeared and reappeared a good distance away from Ranma and Kagome. She opened her fan again and slashed downwards. Ranma easily dodged it and ran after Kagura who used the wind blades as a distraction so she could escape on her feather. Kagome quickly snatched Shippo and rolled to the side, avoiding a wind blade that came their way.
The rest of the group
Inu-yasha, Sango, and Miroku were contemplating when blue wind blades came their way. Quickly snapping out of their reverie, they dodged easily.
"Kagura," Miroku breathed as he tightened his hold on the rosary wrapped around his right hand. He quickly departed along with Sango, Inu-yasha, and Kirara.
Kirara transformed in a blazing fire to its larger form and jumped into the air. Sango quickly leapt on her back and offered her hand to the monk. Miroku grabbed her wrist and hoisted himself onto Kirara's back.
Inu-yasha quickly jumped ahead of them.
They came just in time to see Kagura airborn. Inu-yasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga and slashed downwards shouting, "Kaze no Kizu!"
The attack hit its mark, but Kagura knowing what was to happen jumped off the feather. She landed on her feet, but before she could stand, Sango attacked. The demon huntress threw Hiraikotsu at the wind user. Kagura moved closer to the ground as the huge boomerang sailed above her head.
Kagome attacked at the opportunity. She tackled Kagura, who was caught off guard and forced to the ground. Kagome pressed the pressure point that was located on the wrist. Kagura released her hold on Shin'yuu. Kagome swiftly grabbed the hilt and rolled off of the demon.
When Kagura and Kagome got back their footing, large bees filled the area. Kagura glared at the Saimyoushou that covered her. She picked up the now small feather and threw it into the air again. The bees around her made way for her departure before leaving themselves.
'I failed! Damn,' Kagura cursed to herself. She knew when she returned Naraku would more than likely punish her in one way or another. 'I need to get back my heart,' she thought, sailing in the night.
Inu-tachi camp site
They just returned to the now occupied camp ground. The group settled down and Kagome began to cook their dinner.
"What were those things?" Ranma questioned as Kagome cooked what seemed to be a dish Kasumi taught her.
"Naraku's poison insects," Sango answered, looking at the dinner that was being cooked.
"And more importantly, why did Kagura try to steal Shin'yuu from me?" Kagome finally spoke up. She had been silent ever since Kagura departed.
"We don't know, we honestly don't know," Sango answered.
Yes, I know it's nearing the end of the month, but I had finals! I'm also considering writing a separate different focused on the events on Ch: 11 where Kagome was injured and had to stay at Sesshoumaru's mansion. Of course it's going to be a Sess/Kag but I want to know your thoughts on it.
And thanks to tHe-aRisTocRatiC-aSSaSSiN, for editing my chapters. Finally you ACTUALLY decided on ONE name. =) [Beta: ((]
I would also like to point out that the Taste of Chicago is this weekend, and I can't wait to go there. The food's gonna be great! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review!!!!!
