Chapter one: The aftermath of battle.
I'm in heaven! Kagome Higurashi thought as she slipped into the tub of warm water, allowing a sigh of contentment to escape her lips as the grime and dirt from her travels through the feudal era was washed from her body. The water soothed her skin and loosened the knots in her back and shoulders. For a moment, it stung upon contact with the cuts she had acquired on her knees and arms, and especially stung the burns on her feet that she had recieved thanks to the recent perilous adventure against Naraku. Luckily, the pain was a momentarily thing and moments later she once again found herself enjoying her bath.
Leaning back against the far wall of the tub until all but her head was underwater, a slight blush colored her cheeks as a result of the hot temperature. That's how she preferred her baths, hot to the touch. The only thing that beat a good modern bath was a dip on a hot springs, one of the few luxuries available in the feudal era.
How long has it been since I've been able to enjoy the luxury of a warm bath? It feels so good to be clean! The feeling of cleanliness was enough to erase the disappointment she had felt earlier that day. Naraku had escaped again, by the skin of his teeth. But that wasn't really anything new. It just meant the long battle between her group and their fated enemy would drag on all that much longer. Naraku was persistent to the point of obsessive, but Inuyasha was even more so. It was surely only a matter of time until the half demon she so cared for brought his greatest foe down.
At least I can travel back and forth again now that we got some decent down time. Naraku will probably stay down for a little while. Besides, this shard is safer in my time than it is in the feudal era. She looked over to where the sparking jewel fragment sat inside a small glass case that had been fastened into a necklace that she could wear. The final shard, one of only three that were not in the enemy's hands. A sliver of hope in the face of eternal darkness and peril. It's sparkle caught her eye just then, as if reassuring her that all hope was not lost.
She shook her head from side to side. Now's not the time to think about this, I'm supposed to be relaxing! Taking a deep breathe she submerged herself underwater, allowing the remaining traces of grime in her hair to wash away. She savored the water's touch as if it was that of an intimate lover. It had been far too long since she had been able to come home and it was so wonderful to see her Momma, Grandpa, and Sota again. Being able to look forward to sleeping in a real bed again and eating a good home cooked meal wasn't looking too bad either!
With much reluctance she rose out of the tub and toweled off. Wrapping a light yellow towel around her slim frame, she looked at herself in the mirror, drying and brushing her hair. She was more than a little surprised to see that the face looking back at her seemed a bit more mature, a bit more grown up than it had just months before. She was becoming a woman now, and she'd earned that right! After all, hadn't she been through more life and death struggles than most modern day people?
"Kagome," her mother's gentle voice called up. "Dinner's ready, I made your favorite! Please come down before it gets cold!"
"Coming!" she sang back happily, wiping the mirror down on her way out of the bathroom. Changing into a pair of pajamas that felt softer than silk after wearing her uniform day after day, she zipped down the stairs, nearly tripped over Buyo as he crossed the hall. The fat cat responded with a disgruntled meow and padded on his way, but so intent on eating a decent meal, Kagome never even noticed he was there.
Tossing her still damp hair over her shoulder, she padded down the stairs and into the kitchen and dining area. A delicious aroma greeted her nose and she inhaled deeply, spreading her arms wide dramatically. "A home cooked meal! At last!"
Sota tossed his big sister a flat look. "You'd think she'd never eaten before."
"Now now, Sota, Kagome hasn't had the comforts of home to enjoy as you have this last week," his grandpa lectured, putting down some sentimental trinket that he was inspecting with a look that told them that he no doubt treasured it so. "She's got important business to do over there, you can believe that."
"That's right," Kagome said, lowering herself into a sitting position on the opposite side of the table from Sota. "Lets see you live happily off of wilderness cooking for weeks on end, not have the chance to bath properly, and get attacked by scary demons all the time!"
At this Sota paled. "Is it really that bad over there, sis?"
"Well, it can be. Naraku got away again so he's still a threat. On the other hand, whenever he's aloof the lesser bad guys usually keep a low profile. He has most of the shards now too…" she trailed off, lowering her head.
Her grandfather nodded slowly. "Grave times indeed. Thank goodness that scoundrel can cross over to this world."
"But enough of that!" her mother chimed in happily as she brought an assortment of food to the table. "Lets talk about some happy things, shall we? That's what dinner conversation should be anyways. Sota please pass the food trays around to everyone."
"So what have I missed these last few weeks?" Kagome split apart her chopsticks and helped herself to the feast before her. "This looks fantastic, Momma!"
Her mother smiled softly. "I'm glad you like it. Things have been fairly quiet around here lately. I found you another bike, it was going for a cheap price at a local yard sale. A little bit of work and it'll be good as new."
"Yeah, until big brother Inuyasha gets a hold of it, like he did the last one," Sota said, almost under his breath.
"What else… Oh! Your report card came in the other day."
Kagome's chopsticks fell from her hands and clattered onto her plate. "R-report card you say? S-so how was it?"
"You did very well considering your many absences. Your scores were all in the high 80's percentile. Momma is very proud of you."
Kagome's eyes widened until they were the size of dinner plates. "You're kidding!"
Soft laughter greeted Kagome's amazement. "Of course not, dear. You did very well. I know your long trips from home take their toll on you, but when you are home, you study enough to manage your way through school just fine. You take after me," she added proudly. "I used to be like that too. All the other students were jealous."
"High 80's, huh?" Kagome sat back, dazed. "Wow…"
"However," her mother continued as she delicately ate, "I think its important that you go to school for the next week or two. Your finals are coming up, you know. Grandpa has really been in a jam trying to figure out new "aliments" to explain your absence to the school officials."
"I almost forgot about finals!" Kagome smacked herself in the forehead. "But that shouldn't be a problem anyways! I needed a break from the feudal era and I already told my friends that I'd be gone for a while. I've got to study or I wont make it to high school," she trailed off, thoughtfully chewing on a clump of rice.
"What are your friends in the past going to do in the meantime?" Grandpa asked.
"Yes, what about Inuyasha? He hasn't come around here lately," her mother commented. "How will he keep himself busy? He's such an impatient young man."
Kagome blinked. "Inuyasha…?" He hadn't taken Naraku's disappearance lightly and was probably more agitated at having final victory snatched away by defeat than the rest of them were. After all, Naraku had destroyed Inuyasha's happiness and life long before Miroku or the others had even been born. His grudge against Naraku was over fifty years in the making and the pace he set as they had pursued the evil half demon time and time again was nothing short of mind-boggling and exhausting.
The only thing was for sure was that after such a grand defeat, Naraku would go into hiding to lick his wounds, probably for a weeks or even a few months if he felt like counterattacking with some particularly insidious scheme. This left her some time for some serious studying, and a chance to enjoy the comforts only the modern era could provide her. Being able to take a bath every night and sleep in her cozy bed was going to feel so good! Nothing like a good hardship to really make you appreciate what you had.
In truth, the feudal era hadn't been that bad, and the change in lifestyles had grown on her. But her home was in the present, away from the constant home front wars of the Samurai, away from demons, away from Naraku. She paused a moment from eating as a chill ran down her spine as she thought about what her grandpa had said minutes before. If Naraku ever managed to find his way into her time…
Well, she didn't want to entertain that line of thought any longer. She looked up from her plate at the weird looks her family was tossing her way.
"What about Inuyasha?" Sota asked again.
Despite herself, Kagome felt a slight smile tug at the corners of her lips. Closing her eyes she chuckled softly. She knew Inuyasha better than any of the others and if there was one person whom she could read like a book, it was him. "Well, Inuyasha is…."
Sulking.
Yes, he had to admit he was sulking, and for some reason that only pissed him off all the more. There was no kinder way to put it, no way he could sugar coat it. In the end, that's all it really was, and sulking wasn't a thing a decent, disciplined warrior would do. Sulking was for children and weak demons, not someone who had battled more powerful foes than perhaps even his father had. Was he watching from heaven above, frowning with disapproval at his son's actions?
Damn it… we were so close! Stretching out across the roof of Kaide's house Inuyasha placed his hands behind his head and watched as the lazy sun slowly started to sink behind the horizon. He blew out an angry breath and cursed his ill fortune. Above him, a family of ducks passed overhead in formation, probably looking for a suitable sized lake to feed in. As nightfall approached, Inuyasha's keen ears picked up the sounds of the villagers making preparations to light torches throughout the town to illuminate their houses, and keep the night hunting animals and demons at bay.
The midsummer dusk wasn't as warm as normal and the slightly cool breeze blowing throughout the land worked like magic, raising the spirits of the farmers who had toiled out in the fields all day. Laughter broke out like a epidemic and everyone seemed to find themselves overcome by a mild taste of elation, all except Inuyasha. Sensing the happiness in the air around him only irritated him further and he slammed his bare heel down onto one of the many stones used to weigh down the straw roof during a storm, shattering it instantly.
"Damn it! Why does he always get away?"
The question wasn't voiced to anyone in particular, but Shippo, who had been watching Inuyasha's mild tantrum for several minutes, took that moment to make his presence known. Climbing up the rest of the way onto the roof he went and sat down next to Inuyasha and watched the sun as it began its slow retreat into the distant horizon. Inuyasha noticed his arrival but didn't make any mention of it, choosing rather to just voice his thoughts out loud, something he didn't do very often.
"He's done so many shitty things and we've tracked him down for months on end and every time he gets away! What ever happened to the good guys winning in the end? That bastard may be a coward but he's smart. Too smart! He's always one step ahead of us. Damn…."
Shippo sucked happily on a lollypop that Kagome had given to him shortly before she had returned to her own time for a moment before he replied. "Well, its not over yet, ya' know?"
"Don't go saying stupid shit I already know!" Inuyasha growled. "We killed the Thunder Brothers; you had your revenge against them! I want mine against Naraku! I-"
Shippo's small hands gripped his wrist so hard it gave pause to his rant. "Don't you dare think for as second that Naraku isn't as much my, no, isn't as much our enemy as he is yours! This isn't just your or Kikyou's fight anymore!"
"Shippo…"
"He's right you know," Miroku's voice called up from the ground below. "Naraku has effected all of our lives in one way or another. This battle may be far from over, but at least it's our fight to win. We are a team after all."
"Keh! I know that!" Inuyasha turned his head to look back up at the sky. "I'm just frustrated is all."
"Perhaps you're just a bit hungry," Miroku suggested. "Sango just got back from the forest a few minutes ago with almost a dozen freshly caught fish. Nothing like a warm fire and some good food… unless it's the warm bottom of hers…." Trailing off he turned and headed back towards the campfire Sango was starting at the edge of town, a mischievous glint shining in his eyes like sunlight across metal.
Shippo hopped over Inuyasha's chest and sat on the corner of the house, watching Miroku with a shake of his head. "He'll never learn. Say, Inuyasha, what's the plan now?"
Inuyasha scratched behind one ear with a clawed finger. "Aint it obvious, Shippo! Soon as Kagome gets back from her tests, we're going after Naraku! This time, we're going to bury him once and for all! With so many groups after his head, it's only a matter of time until he screws up! And when he does…" Inuyasha drove his fist into his open hand hard enough to rattle the roof.
"Inuyasha! Shippo! Supper is on," Sango called from a distance. The gentle smell of cooked fish tickled at the noses of the two on the roof and, for a moment at least, Inuyasha forgot about his irritation as his stomach reminded him it was hungry. He settled around the campfire with the other two members of his group, and noticed without any surprise that Miroku bore a red handprint on his cheek, his reward from Sango for an act of perversion. Shaking his head, he bit into the cooked fish and grudgingly admitted that it tasted wonderful, though he'd never say so. Sango had really outdone herself.
The half demon looked at the demon exterminator from across the merry little fire and noticed she wore a downcast look on her face, one that she usually had when thoughts of Kohaku crossed her mind. The tragedy involving her little brother was the result of yet another scheme Naraku had concocted quite some time ago. Not only did he now keep her brother in a cruel state of servitude, but he had also had the gall to oversee the massacre of every occupant of her former village, effectively erasing her former life and all that she had loved.
The shadows cast from the fire danced across Sango's pretty face as she shifted into a better eating position, the fabric of her soft traveling outfit whispering as she moved. Her dark bangs almost completely hid the sight of her liquid brown eyes as she stared intensely into the fire. She chewed wordlessly and if she was enjoying the taste of her own cooking, it wasn't evident on her face.
Naraku getting away again had hit her hard, Inuyasha grudgingly admitted. Every day that Naraku lived was another day that her little brother had to serve as his puppet. Their fated enemy had much to own up for… in blood.
"So what's the plan? I mean, what do we do now?" Sango asked, absent mindedly running a hand through her dark brown bangs.
"We go after him," Inuyasha muttered. "How many times are you people gonna' ask me that?"
Miroku studied the piece of fish on the end of his chopsticks for a moment. "He fled in a terrible hurry… and that look on his face… I hadn't seen such a troubled look on him in quite some time."
"Yeah, your right!" Shippo exclaimed. "Even after Inuyasha had torn through his barrier, he still looked all calm and in control. But all of a sudden he just started to panic and fled."
Sango nodded. "And I'm fairly sure he wasn't panicking because of us. Something happened else where that required his attention. But what would that have been? Sesshoumaru perhaps."
Inuyasha scowled. "As if. Sesshoumaru cant even break through Naraku's barrier. He's no real threat to Naraku so long as the bastard hides behind his security bubble."
"Right," Miroku agreed. "Every time his barrier has evolved and gotten stronger, you'd come up with a new attack to neutralize it. The problem for us isn't getting rid of his barrier, it's the fact that no matter how much we cut him, how much we hurt him, we just cant kill him. Now why is that?"
Everyone looked around at one another and shook their heads, unsure of an answer.
"He bleeds so that means he's not immortal," Inuyasha muttered. "He's gotta' have a fatal weakness. It's just up to us to find it. We'll rest up here for a few days then continue on our way. He cant hide his stench anymore, not like he did at Mount Hakurei. We'll pick up his trail and when he slips up…" he slammed his fist into the ground. "We'll get him for sure!"
Finishing the rest of his meal Miroku leaned back and rubbed at his full belly. "Ah nothing like a full stomach. Lets not worry about Naraku or the Shikon shards tonight! Let's have some fun and relax! The village festival is only a few days away, after all!"
A glint of interest sparked to life in Sango's eyes, finally banishing the neutral expression she'd been wearing for most of the day. "Hey, that could be fun. It's been a long time since I've been to a festival."
"So its settled!" Shippo cried, jumping for joy as visions of sweets aplenty ran through his head. "We stay to enjoy the festival before we go out again!"
Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest. "Please, this is so lame. We aint got the time for no festival!"
"Well, if we tell Kagome about it, she might bring some more of that ninja food to celebrate! What's it called… potato chips, I think." Shippo said.
Inuyasha's ears twitched ever so slightly. "Well… I guess we could stay for the festival. It would be a total waste of time though… And its not like I'd have a good time eating or nothing…"
At last Sango's lips turned upwards and she giggled quietly. "Your so transparent sometimes, Inuyasha."
The group laughed as Inuyasha's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. With spirits raised the talked long into the evening, watching the stars twinkle to life above them one at a time. They had become fast friends, comrades from different backgrounds joined together against a common enemy. Constant danger only served to bring their band closer together, and when push came to shove there was nothing they couldn't accomplish. They always prevailed in the end.
This was one lesson they intended to teach Naraku once and for all! The battle would be long and harsh but they couldn't lose!
The quiet whisper of the flying Soul Snatcher Demon accompanied it's movements throughout the vast forest, it's long, snake-like body weaving gracefully through nature as it carried a brightly shining soul orb within the gentle embrace of it's legs. It was not alone. In front and behind it, other's if it's kind also traveled the same route, drawn to the call of their gentle yet insistent mistress. Though they could not speak and their intelligence was vastly limited, there existed no other creature so blindly loyal. Their ability to snatch the souls of dead women was an invaluable talent for one whom was dead and now living again.
For one such as Kikyou.
As the soft full moon rose higher into the sky, she rested her back against a large oak tree, beginning the ritual she had done so many times before. Her pale white skin contrasted greatly with her solid black hair and red priestess robes, but somehow, that made her all the more beautiful, all the more ethereal. Not even death could rob her of such beauty, and had anyone happened upon the scene at that moment, they would have sworn they had seen an angel, bathed in the pale light of the moon above.
One after another the Soul Snatchers appeared around her, beginning a slow, lazy formation that revolved around her and the tree in which she rested against. Tilting her head upwards, she opened her light brown eyes and watched her pets, allowing a soft sigh to escape her lips. Bringing her arms up to either side, she opened herself, mind, body, and soul. One by one, the floating demons above began to release their cargo, and the souls fell gently towards the waiting priestess, entering her body upon contact. Renewed power immediately began to filter throughout her form and loathe as she was to admit it, it felt invigorating.
It also made her feel dirty. She was a priestess, a saver of lives, a person to help people in these times of trouble and uncertainties. But to continue to do these things, she had to feed on the souls of the dead. Help the living, feed on the dead. Surely no one could understand her pain, her suffering. To die feeling nothing but rage and pain and hurt, and to live again as little more than a doll. She did not want to live this life, but nor did she simply want to die, not when so much was left to be done.
Not so long as Naraku lived.
Naraku. I'm going to cast you into that which you are named after. Hell. You will be made to answer for your crimes! Her lips turned downwards in the form of a slight frown, but beyond that her face remained cool and composed. Continuing to rest against the tree, she began to affectionately pet a Soul Snatcher as it came and landed in her shoulder.
"Naraku. So many times you have tried to kill me. So many times you have failed. By your hands I was destroyed, and by my hands so will you be destroyed! Your heart. That is the key. I was so close to getting it, so close to erasing your stain from existence once and for all. But no matter, I have all the time I need, so run all you like, hide wherever you will feel secure. I will find you wherever you go."
She hadn't seen him since the final battle. While wandering the just hours ago she had seen his incarnation, Hakudoshi speeding off a distance away, burning the grass and dirt beneath him with his filthy negative energy. It had struck her as an odd sight. He wasn't one to just travel so brazenly in the open like that, begging to be seen. As she had continued to survey the surrounding land, she had seen what he was doing. Scorched earth trails went out in all different directions for many miles around, and he had made them one by one. Covering Naraku's escape perhaps?
She also couldn't sense his presence or the shards of the Shikon. This also troubled her. Pushing herself off of the tree she checked to make sure her bow and cache of arrows were secure on her back and began to quietly move again. A soft wind rustled through the trees, blowing her long hair up behind her like a billowing cape. Paying it no heed, she allowed herself to relax into her senses, seeking out Naraku with a vengeance that was as deadly as it was patient.
The hunt for Naraku would begin anew. Step by graceful step she disappeared into the surrounding foliage, her Soul Snatchers following silently in her wake.