Chapter 3 Naraku's Advantage

Naraku's Condemned Castle

Kagura stood in front of Naraku.

"I want you to control all the zombies in the Dead Village," Naraku instructed, "Kanna will lead the way. Lead them back here, and lie them down in the back, where nobody can see them."

Kagura gave a grunt, and left the room. Naraku watched them go.

It had been years since he heard of the Darklings. Onigumo had once been their servant. He saw them slay one fox demon after another. Just for the power. Each death made them stronger. One of the Darklings was pathetic enough to try and save the fox demons. However, through all her efforts she managed to save only one out of the millions that suffered death in the hands of the greedy. Shippou was the only one that survived. The last fox demon.

Shippou was just a boy and the weakest of Inuyasha's gang. So why hadn't he killed him? Darkle, that wretched witch, cursed Onigumo preventing him to kill any fox demons. It was Darkle that had killed her own sisters. And since Onigumo was still a part of Naraku, he could not kill any fox demons. None of his incarnations, either, will be able to kill a fox demon, because the curse has spread to them. One thing that also stopped him from killing Shippou was the X pendant. The Shikomori pendant that Tokiri had protected with his life protected Shippou. That was another part of the curse. So long as that pendant is whole, Shippou cannot die.

However it was one of those 'damn if you do, damn if you don't,' situations. The pendant kept those protecting it from death, and should it ever change masters then the previous ones will die. Should it break, so will the soul of the one who holds it.

Naraku wasn't able to kill Tokiri or destroy the pendant because of the land that it was in. It kept all those evil out. It wasn't pure, but it kept those with harmful intentions out. It was a peaceful area, and none can corrupt it. The peace was empty however… full of dead life.

Now that Miroku has the pendant, and he is moving away from the land, Naraku has a chance now at destroying the pendant. Seeing as the monk's souls are unbalanced, it should be easy. That stupid Tokiri should never have had handed it to that lecherous monk.

Somewhere in the Universe

'These are people?' Miroku asked.

The worm nodded.

'Are they dead?'

Again, the worm nodded.

'Miroku!' a voice called from one of the stars, 'Miroku!'

'I need to see who that is,' Miroku called to the soul collector.

The freakishly white worm swam towards a star, and let Miroku talk to whoever it was.

'Tokiri!' Miroku cried, 'you're dead?'

'For a long time now,' Tokiri sadly admitted, 'when you last saw me my souls were only there because they were still in the presence of that pendant I gave you. But never mind that, you'll understand all that later. Miroku, you can protect Shippou by protecting yourself. As long as the pendant exists, Shippou can never die. So be careful with it. Also, if the pendant breaks, your soul breaks, and you die. Do not give the pendant to anyone else or you will die. I'm sorry you have to go through all this, but you have to. I'll send you back to earth, via my thoughts. You and that soul collector. I wonder what it was doing all the way out here. Good-bye Miroku, and I hope you are able to see your grandfather again.'

'What was all that you just said?' Miroku demanded. But it was too late. Miroku was flung deep inside Tokiri's thoughts, and the soul collector writhed and squirmed in the sudden speed. Nothing can travel faster than thought, not even light. Miroku heard all of Tokiri apologies, some of his past memories, and about Naraku and what he will probably do.

Miroku knew his friends, and the love of his life, were in danger.

Still in the Dense Forest of Japan

Kikyou hummed a song as the sun rose. She felt good for some reason. Refreshed. She should probably take a bath in the hot springs in the early morning more often. A soul collector landed on the ground in front of her. It writhed like a snake, and calmed down only when it felt Kikyou's caressing hand. It wrapped its body around Kikyou's neck and told her in her mind what had just happened.

"I see," Kikyou murmured, "so you did find Miroku's souls. They were still in one form? That's good news. Now Miroku has to be prepared to go back to his body – but he has to go through one of his worst nightmares in order to wake up."

"What did you say?" Sango asked. The whole gang was up now. Only Sango has overheard what Kikyou has said.

"I have some things to tell you," Kikyou murmured. She walked over to them, and explained what her soul collector had heard and seen.

"So… what we don't go to the land of the Dead?" Kagome wondered aloud.

"I guess the universe is the Land of the Dead," Kikyou said.

"How did you know where to send your soul collector?" Sango demanded.

"I didn't," Kikyou explained, "I just told my soul collector to find Miroku's soul. So it looked for it, and I guess it was lead there."

"So Miroku is in his worst nightmare right now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes, he is," Kikyou answered, "but the trouble is that I do not know when he will wake up."

"So at least I'm safe as long as Miroku's safe," Shippou sighed in relief, "but who wants to kill me and why?"

Kikyou looked at her soul collector and they exchanged thoughts.

"It looks like Naraku will be chasing after Miroku. And let's pray that as soon as he wakes up, he doesn't fall for the same trick his grandfather did."

"We won't have to worry about that," Sango growled, "all we have to do is stay away from all pretty women. This is a great excuse to get his dirty mind off of groping other girls' butts."

"I guess you can look at it that way," Kagome mumbled, "but knowing Naraku, he'll have other plans besides that."

"That's right," Inuyasha muttered, "Miroku's just a mortal. He'll be easy prey. He can distract us and separate us. Every time we run into Naraku, we're always his play toys."

"But we have some control," Kagome said, "that's why, most of the time, we win."

"Most of the time," Inuyasha grunted, "what if this isn't one of those times?"

"We have to be on guard all the time," Kikyou sighed, "this time, two of your group's lives are in jeopardy."

"OUR group," Kagome smiled, "you may not be with us forever, but you're a part of this group for now. You'll be part of the Yasha gang! I'm going to admit right now, we need you. So let's work together on this one."

Kikyou looked at her for a minute. Understanding washed one her pale face. "Yes," she answered, "I'll work with you."

"Yasha gang?" Shippou complained, "why him? He's so reckless and stupi-"

BONK.

"Watch your mouth, brat," Inuyasha growled.

"Let's get going," Kikyou got up, "it's not safe to stay in one place."

"Kilala," Sango called, "we just need you to keep moving. Keep away from the scent of other humans and demons, besides ourselves."

Kilala gave a purr and trotted.

"Sorry we had to hook you up with a cart," Kikyou apologized, "But it's not like everybody can be carried on you or Inuyasha's back."

Kilala nodded. She made frequent turns and jumps, avoiding the scent of all living things… well, except for animals and such. They kept this up until around noon, when the sun was high up in the sky. They stopped by a waterfall that they have run into and rested for a bit.

Kilala was snoozing when she smelled a different scent. Inuyasha also smelled it, and growled. He put his hand on tetsuiga.

"What are you doing here?" asked a voice. From the shadows walked out Sesshomaru, along with Rin and Jakken close behind him. Jakken gave the usual glare, but Rin waved with a happy smile on her face.

"Sesshomaru," Kagome exclaimed, and told him, "We needed to rest for a bit. We've been traveling almost all night, and from morning until now."

"Why do you have a cart with you?" Sesshomaru asked.

"It's a long story," Kagome explained.

"But it has nothing to do with you," Inuyasha growled, "so just leave now."

"…" Sesshomaru walked over to the cart and looked at the pendant on Miroku's neck. "I've seen that pendant before. I just can't put my finger where."

"So? What's it to you?" Inuyasha grunted.

Rin ran up beside Sesshomaru. Her smile disappeared as soon as she saw the pendant. "Lord Sesshomaru, we should stay away from it," she whispered, "I heard one of the villagers from my old home say that the X pendant is a curse – it both kills and protects."

"How do you know this?" Jakken demanded.

"That villager I'm talking about – he just came from the Southern Lands – the Land that Lord Tokiri had ruled over. The Dead Village."

"That was the town's name?" Kikyou asked.

"I'm pretty sure that's what I heard," Rin answered.

"Well, we did hear Miroku call the lord over there Tokiri," Kagome pointed out, "that must be the same place."

Rin cowered behind Sesshomaru. She watched how Miroku tossed and turned, beads of sweat rolling down his face. Sesshomaru turned to Inuyasha, and then Shippou. "You knew this day would come," he told Shippou. Having said that, he walked back into the shade of the forest along with Jakken.

"Hypnotism," Rin whispered to Kagome, "I've heard that it reveals something even the conscious soul doesn't know. By the way, can I have some food?"

Kagome handed over two buns of bread.

"Thanks!" Rin smiled, and ran off to Sesshomaru.

"Hypnotism," Kagome murmured, "Shippou, do you know what Sesshomaru meant?"

"I have no idea."

Kagome was silent for a moment. Then, breaking the silence, she said, "I have to go back to my time."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR #$$ MIND!" Inuyasha roared.

"No I'm not," Kagome said, in a surprisingly calm tone, "I need to research on something that may help us."

"Who says you can go back!" Inuyasha demanded.

Kagome's eyes burned with fury, and Inuyasha could swear he saw flames all around her.

Devil! Devil, devil, devil, devil! Inuyasha screamed in his head.

"SAYS ME," Kagome yelled, "STOP MAKING ME MAD, INUYASHA! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! Sango, can I borrow Kilala for a while?"

"Uhhh," Sango mumbled, "…sure?"

"Thank you," Kagome said, hopping on Kilala and left for the well.

An Hour Later, In Kagome's Era

"Stupid, no good son of a…" Kagome grumbled. Her hand flew across the titles and shelves, looking for the right book. Usually the library had the perfect sources that were easy to find, but I guess hypnotism is kind of rare. Kagome went up to the librarian.

"Excuse me," Kagome asked, "do you know where I can find a book on hypnotism?"

"Sorry, they're all out," the librarian didn't even look up. Kagome guessed that she got that question a lot. Kagome turned to leave, until the librarian stopped her.

"There's a small library downtown, filled with neat witchcraft books and such. You might find what you're looking for there."

Kagome gave a weird look to the librarian. She now noticed that the woman was new there, supposedly no older than her early twenties.

"You look familiar, you know?" the lady smiled, "maybe we were friends in a past life! Or worse, we could have been enemies!"

Kagome was silent for a moment. After a minute or so, she said, "maybe we were both."

"You agree with me then!" the lady smiled, "hardly anybody would."

Kagome stared at the woman.

She was a mirror image of Kikyou.

Kagome walked out of the library in a daze, holding on to the business card that had a map of where that other library was. She was confused.

Aren't I the reincarnation of Kikyou? Kagome thought to herself, and if I am, why is there a person that looks exactly like a modern-day Kikyou here?

Unless... Kikyou and Inuyasha already...

...Bore a child...

The thought shuddered Kagome. That can't be right. It just can't. Not only is it wrong, it's... Kagome couldn't describe it. She didn't know whether to hate Kikyou or not. It might not even be their kid, Kagome reassured herself, but then again, the agreement she made with Kikyou only applied when they were both in sight and earshot. Now that she has left Inuyasha's era, Kikyou can do whatever she wants without violating the agreement. Kagome felt backstabbed. It had been Kikyou that suggested that idea... but then again, Kagome couldn't have had put it in any better way.

Kagome shrugged the thoughts away, and headed downtown, running through the mass of cars and people.

Chaos.

Naraku's Castle

"The corpses that you told me to retrieve are here now," Kagura said, "It was a hard task though. The barrier was still there, although it looked like it had been torn to shreds."

"Good," Naraku muttered, "I want you to separate the group into two. One will be sent in for distraction. Lure Inuyasha, Kilala, and Sango away from Kilala and the others. I want Kikyou, Shippou and Miroku alive, untouched, and in my castle by sunset tomorrow. There are some things that they can be useful for."

"It would be better if Kagome were there," Kanna suggested dully.

"So, she's not here, is she?" Naraku growled, "that wench. As soon as she comes back, bring her along with Kikyou and the others. If you can't take her, at the very least get the jewel shards into our hands. We'll attack the morning after she comes."

Kanna's mirror suddenly glowed. Naraku looked at the mirror, and saw Sesshomaru jumping off from tree to tree, in search for him. He was way too close to their hideout and barrier.

"That might be a problem," Naraku smiled, "Kagura, remember that village down there? I want you to move the bodies and make them attack from behind him. That way, we can distract him and strengthen our barrier."

Kagura gave a grunt and flew out into the night.

"Kanna," Naraku instructed, "I want you to lure Sesshomaru to my castle when the time comes. Inuyasha will just follow Kagura's feather all the way here," Naraku paused, considering something. Then he continued, "I'll make Kagome get lost in the same thing she got herself into. Yes, I would get stronger that way… I'll get much stronger this time. Everybody will know my name and fear it."