Kitty-chan: Ooooh... I had so much fun writing this chapter. To all you Sesshy fans out there, we've got a little Sesshomaru goodness in here. It's not like me to compliment Sesshomaru, but whatever. Sooo... yeah. The only thing I gotta say is... enjoy the chapter! That and I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters save for Miidori, Okuri, Dev, Kawaru... and a few other random people in here. XD
"So… you have the Kazaana in your right hand. That would prove your heritage, I suppose." Kagome stated, running a wet cloth over his newest gash. Okuri said nothing for a moment, simply nodding. "And that pearl rosary you have seals it in, correct?"
Okuri paused. "That's right…" He reguarded her with a guilty suspicion for a moment. He had indeed been saved by this woman, but this knowledge was only known to those with whom he had fought before. How could she possibly know this? "Though I have to say I wonder how you know something like that."
Kagome smiled weakly. " It makes sense, I suppose." She muttered, almost ignoring him for the moment. "Naraku is still alive meaning that the curse hasn't been lifted from your family."
At this, Okuri gently pulled his arm away. "Just how do you know about my family and Naraku. No one is really supposed to know that Naraku was the one who cursed us. How do you?"
Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "No one's supposed to know? Why not? What's the problem with knowing that Naraku was the one that cursed you?"
"Having any kind of connection with Naraku at all screams connection. You know how rumors and things start and get distorted. My father made me promise not to tell, or else our family name and the name of Miroku-sama could be tarnished forever. The most likely distortion that could be possible if the story got out would be that I am in fact in league with Naraku. You know how people talke." He paused. "Now… how do you know about my family and Naraku?"
Kagome gave a heavy sigh. "Okuri-sama… you have to understand. I am… not like other people of this world. I never have been."
"That much is obvious." Okuri gave a smile that caused Kagome to relax. "If you were, I suppose you wouldn't have been chosen as Miko Kikyo-sama, ne?"
Kagome smiled back, then looked down, shaking her head. "Listen… you wouldn't believe me if I told you why, but trust me when I say, 'I knew Miroku-sama personally'." She gave him an intense stare. "I know a lot more about your family than you think I do."
Okuri was silent for a long time. This was Kikyo-sama he was talking to, so technically, he had every reason to believe her. Kikyo-sama was chosen for her honesty and purity in addition to her power, courage, and wisdom. She was the leader of the remaining humans in this land and if he didn't believe in her, who did he believe in? The chances that she was lying was about one to a million, not to mention that she had known about his connection with Naraku from the beginning. But still… it was so absurd that she could know one 500 years dead, that part of his brain just couldn't force himself to believe her. "Prove it." He said boldly, praying that the words wouldn't upset her. "Tell me something that you would know only if you had met Miroku-sama."
Kagome paused for a moment. He half-felt like she shouldn't have to prove herself beyond telling him about Naraku's curse, considering she had already suffered enough frustration at Sesshomaru's hands over the same situation. But considering her mission was to raise an army against Naraku, proving her sanity was an important part of meeting allies. And she had to admit that much of what she said did sound like the babblings of a woman mentally unsound. She finally chuckled. "Oh where do I start? He's a pretty open pervert. His favorite thing to do tended to be stroking a woman's butt. Not to mention he could be a downright conman when he wanted to be." She chuckled weakly.
Okuri's star was blank for a moment. He soon smiled and bowed his head. "Fine." He muttered, relaxing his arm back into her hands. "Miroku-sama is revered to have been the most influential humans and greatest monks who ever lived. He raised a small army against Naraku before he died of severe poisoning. Only one who had met him personally would know such interesting quirks since no one normally of this world would care to tarnish his name with such qualities." Kagome nodded. "So… what exactly are you planning to do from here? Defeating Naraku isn't something easily taken on by a few humans."
Kagome looked up, hope in her eyes. "We?"
Okuri smiled. "You have my assistance, My Lady."
Kagome grinned and returned to cleaning his wound. "I think you'll find we have more allies than you'd expect."
"The problem is, they're all human." Dev put in from her place on Okuri's shoulder.
"Not all of them." Kagome reminded her. "We have Dog-General Sesshomaru from the West. He may be difficult, but it's pretty obvious where his loyalties lie. He's very powerful. And surely there are other strong demons that oppose Naraku. An unquestioned tyrant has no shortage of enemies. Any type of government probably has some type of small army in opposition to their rule. The armies become stronger the more power the leader of the government has."
"Maybe so, but we'd have to find the demons that oppose him, and actually convince them to act with us. The reason no one has tried to rise against him since Miroku-sama tried is because no one believes we have enough power." Okuri mumbled.
"Oh we have the power needed. The only thing is, it's spread out all over Japan and there's no one unifying person or force. Nothing to bring them all together in a unified attack." Kagome answered back. "We just have to find the scattered powers and bring them together. Wherever they are. We have to find them first. Considering Naraku's power and his punishment for opposing forces… all the powers we need are in hiding."
"How many do you know of personally, Houshi-kun?" dev inquired, looking to him.
Okuri paused and craned his neck to look at her. "Hard to say. These days most of what you hear are simply legend and rumor. It's hard to find the reality buried in the talk. If there is any reality in it at all, that is. All I know of are simply rumors and legends." Kagome and Dev remained quiet, urging him to continue. "Well… there's one legend that people seem convinced is true. It came from an old soothsayer in the east about 100 years ago. At least that's what I've heard. It's one of the oldest legends in this land. Naraku has pretty much ignored it since he seems to think nothing can get in his way… but… the legend basically says that when the time comes to defeat Naraku, it will be done by three warriors, one from each race; the warrior of the sun… the warrior of the moon… and a mysterious warrior that is neither the sun nor the moon." Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. Okuri waved his hands. "What? I didn't make it up. I'm only telling you the legend."
Kagome shook her head. "We'll worry about that later. What about the rumors?"
"I've heard many things from people passing through my village. One thing that keeps coming up is an idea that probably spawned off the legend in some way. It states that when an army is ready to rise against Naraku… every part of this land will lend an army. They say that when the time is right, the humans from the South will ally with the leader from the West and launch an attack on Naraku."
"You said every part of this land. What about the East and the North?" Dev inquired.
"Well… rumor has it that there is an entire demon army in the East, waiting for a cry of battle from the West or the North and will fight then." Okuri explained.
"And what about the North?" Kagome continued, pulling out some proper bandages as she finished cleaning and began wrapping.
"The North is a little weird. It's generally accepted that the army against Naraku in the North is all humans. A few say that there are demons as well, but most believe that any demons up there are in Naraku's service. As for the humans… some say that it is humans once loyal to Naraku that will turn on him in the right hour, and others say that it is humans living in secret that will aide."
"Well… I dunno about the legend, but the rumors are worth a shot. What's to lose if we fail? We'd just need to look for them." Dev suggested. "Right now we're trying to sum up our strengths, find out where we can pull strength from to form an army.
"Well, there's not much to lose, to be honest." Okuri shrugged. "But the problem is how? How are we going to convince the humans left to leave their protection? The West might not be a big deal since most of them would gladly go to war for the Dog-General. They worship that guy. But the South is a problem. After all… no one's going to go to war for a tree. They don't see any reason to leave the protection of their Goshin Boku. They won't leave unless we show them that we have enough power to support a resistance. Unless our power outweighs the power of the Goshin Boku, then they're not going to leave it to come with us."
"But that's the problem. Even you and I don't stand up to the power of the Goshin Boku tree, Okuri-sama. We would have to find someone else." Kagome heaved a heavy sigh.
Okuri nodded. "True. Not unless we can turn that tree into a warrior, they're not going to join us."
"Turn the tree into a warrior?" Kagome chuckled, but she then froze as a memory hit her.
Flashback
"I don't know what the hell this wind is, but I won't let it hurt…" Inuyasha trailed off as he spotted something in the distance.
A bow with an arrow drawn to the string.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked up, horrified that the wind might've affected him as well. She noticed his stare was aimed behind her, so she too took a glance behind her to see the oddly suspended weapon.
The arrow released, vanishing into motion and reappearing when the tip imbedded itself in Inuyasha's chest. Inuyasha screamed as not only the pain of the arrow shot through his chest as his weight left the ground and he found himself suspended by the arrow, but also at the painful memories that the weapon managed to dig up.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome immediately grabbed the arrow in an attempt to free him as she had before, but unlike last time, the arrow would not relinquish its hostage. "Inuyasha! Please stay with me! I can't get the arrow out! Open your eyes!"
Slowly, Inuyasha obeyed, fixing her with his orange gaze, glazed with death. He suddenly grabbed her and weakly pulled her to him, deeply inhaling her scent. Kagome threw herself into the embrace, as if perhaps if she held on, he would not vanish and follow the others. "Inuyasha! You made a wish 200 years ago, right? How do you stop this wind? I have to stop this wind so that it'll stop hurting all of you!"
She could feel his body shake as he summoned the last bit of his strength to answer. "It's not… the wind." She froze, not bothering to ask the question that she knew he would next answer. "It's… your wish."
Kagome pulled away slightly as his head dropped to rest his chin on his chest, and his arms fell limply at his sides. "What! My wish? I didn't want this! No!"
"Don't… forget me… wherever you…end up." He moaned as his consciousness began to flee. "… and I won't… forget you." Darkness swallowed his vision.
Kagome watched in helpless horror as his form plastered itself to a tree and he melted away into the dark. "Inuyasha!"
End Flashback
"Inuyasha!" Kagome suddenly yelled, causing Okuri to leap in his chair and Dev to tumble down the bandit's arm.
"What? Who?" Okuri inquired, shakily, hanging onto the chair's arms.
"Kagome-san… I've told you a million times already! Inuyasha is dead!" Dev cried, getting to her knees.
"I know that. When Kikyo sealed him to the tree, he was officially dead. His heart and his breathing stopped. But just because time has passed, doesn't mean he can't still be revived." Kagome insisted.
"Kagome-san…" Dev trailed off and shrugged. "You lost me."
"Listen… 500 years ago, Inuyasha was sealed to the Goshin Boku tree, correct?" Dev nodded. "So, that means he's still in there. You probably can't see him because the tree has grown around him. He's still under Kikyo's spell."
"Wait a minute." Okuri interjected, holding up a hand. "You're talking about the creature inside the Goshin Boku tree? That's just a rumor. The Holy tree was blessed by the original Kikyo-sama 500 years ago. That's what gives it its power to protect."
Kagome shook her head. "No! That's not true! Inuyasha is in that tree, and I'm going to get him out."
"Kagome-sama… they're not going to let you dig some fanciful creature out of their tre. Even if he did exist, not even a Kikyo-sama is going to be allowed to touch the one thing keeping Naraku from completely taking over the South." Okuri shook his head.
"They can't keep Inuyasha like that, Okuri. It's not fair for those people to sacrifice his freedom for their own protection. Inuyasha was sealed there for something he didn't do, and it's not fair that his power be exploited." Kagome muttered. Okuri sighed. "We just need to keep the villagers away from me long enough for me to dig him out."
Dev floated up between them. "Well… I have an idea if Houshi-kun can help out."
"Sure… I'll do what I can." Okuri shrugged.
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The next day found Kagome and Okuri crouching behind a few crates kept outside the village. "That was a long trip beack down here, Okuri-sama. You gonna be alright? You sure you can still do this?" Kagome whispered, crouching a bit lower.
"Yes. It's just a simple barrier. I have to put them up all the time to keep demons out of my village. And oftentimes after I've fought them for a while. I can do them while I'm tired." Okuri assured her.
"Alright. The barrier has to go up immediately and use your energy sparingly. Considering how deep he's probably buried, I don't know how long it's going to take." Kagome warned him.
"Kikyo-sama?" a young voice inquired. Kagome froze and spun to face Miidori, peering over the crates at the three of them. She smiled nad looked about to proclaim the priestess' return when Kagome and Okuri both grabbed her and pulled her down behind the crates with them, each clapping a hand over her mouth.
"Shh!" Okuri hissed.
"If anyone finds out I'm back, we'll never get anywhere near that tree. And I don't think they'll welcome strangers, especially with all the humans working for Naraku. You'd probably be kicked out." She looked to her heir. "Miidori-chan, if we let you go, will you please keep quiet?" Kagome whispered. The small apprentice nodded meekly and as she was released, kept her word and her voice remained low.
"Kikyo-sama… what's going on? Why are you hiding?" she inquired softly.
"Miidori-chan, you're going to have to trust me, alright?" Kagome breathed back. She smiled and put a hand on the girl's head. Miidori in return nodded. "Can you stay here and wait for us?" Miidori nodded dutifully.
"Wait… I have a better idea." Dev held up a tiny finger. The three looked at her, Miidori quirking an eyebrow. "Miidori-chan can go and find some tools for us to use. She can find shovels and things and bring them to us."
Kagome's face brightened. "Can you do that for us, Miidori-chan?" The girl paused, then nodded, pointing at Dev.
"Hai… but Kikyo-sama… why do you have a fairy with you?" Dev seethed for a moment, then took a moment to calm herself, Okuri scooting away a bit, worrying she might just pop.
Kagome smiled and shook her head. "Don't you worry about that, Miidori-chan. Meet us under the Goshin Boku when you've got the tools, alright?" The girl glanced to the Goshin Boku, not fully aware of their plans, but nodded again and darted off toward a small shed several yards away, fully trusting the integrity of their requests. Kagome, Okuri, and Dev waited for several moments, giving the yougner priestess time to gather the available tools. After a short amount of time, they headed out from behind the crates, attempting to make it to the tree before spotted by too many villagers. As soon as they were inside the shade of the tree, Okuri plopped down, put his hands together, and began to concentrate, Kagome and Dev fixating their eyes on the door of the storehouse Miidori had gone into.
As the outline for a barrier began to form around the holy tree, Miidori suddenly dashed out of the storehouse as if thrown. She reached the tree and unburdened her arms of the sovels, picks and a few spears she had gathered. Kagome patted her on the head. "Great, Miidori-chan. Thank you." She then looked to Okuri and could almost see the barrier erect itself around the area. A few curious villagers approached, first proclaiming Kikyo-sama's return, then sending peculiar stares at her, wondering what she could be doing.
Kagome wasted no time in seizing a shovel, and thrusting it into the bark as hard as she could, then pulling it away, removing a small chunk of wood. Right then, she knew this was not going to be easy, for not only did she use all the strength in her arm to pull away that tiny piece, but she was getting an incredibly loud protest from the surrounding villagers. They were not only yelling loudly, but they were also calling the attention of any villager who had not discovered the atrocity occuring. Miidori did not fail to add her voice.
"Kikyo-sama! What are you doing to the Goshin Boku! Have you gone mad?" she inquired as if nearing hysterics.
Kagome dug the shovel in again before pausing and putting her fre hand on the girl's shoulder. "Miidori-chan, I asked you before to trust me. Do you?" The girl nodded, hesitantly, looking from Kagome's face, to the tree, then back to Kagome again. "Then please… help me." Miidori stood in indecision for a moment, taking a wary glance over toward the raging villagers, then back to Kagome. Finally, her young face set with determination, she picked up a smaller shovel and dug it into the tree as far as her young strength would allow. Kagome smiled, and once against set upon her task.
For the next hour, they continued to hack away at the impressively solid bark. But a 500-year-old tree is not one to give way under such attacks, and after over an hour, the dent made toward their goal had not grown more than three feet in diameter and about an inch deep. Kagome wiped sweat from her brow. Weather it was from exertion or nerves caused by the villagers, she didn't know. She looked over to Okuri, then turned to Miidori, who, though weary, bravely hacked away at the wood.
"We're not even close." She glanced around, figuring she would check in on Okuri. Dev was sitting on his shoulder, as if trying to help him in some way. "We need more help." She glanced around at the angry locals. "And I doubt they're going to lend us any help."
Dev suddenly appeared before Kagome's face, putting her hands on the bridge of the priestess' nose. "Kagome-san… we need to hurry this up. Houshi-kun's not gonna last much longer."
"Huh?" Kagome hurried over to where Okuri sat while Dev kept an eye on Miidori. "Okuri-sama?" The bandit failed to respond, and upon closer inspection, Kagome could see a small bit of sweat trickling down his face. "Okuri-sama? How much longer do you think you can support the barrier?"
Okuri shook his head. "Not too much longer." He muttered, tight-lipped. "Never had to do this for more than about 45 minutes."
Kagome sighed. "You could've told me that sooner. We're not even close to being done." She glanced to Miidori, then called over to Dev. "Hey, Dev! Advice needed."
Dev flitted over to her and Kagome held out her hand to allow her to relax there. "Yes?"
"We have a long way to go, and Okuri-sama's about to collapse. We need more help. Have any ideas?" Kagome explained quickly.
Dev thought for a moment, crossing her legs and sitting down on Kagome's palm. "I had a feeling this would happen. Houshi-kun may have a lot of power, but he doesn't know how to use it properly. But I think I have an idea." She shot over to Miidori. "Miidori-chan. You're only an apprentice, but you should know simple energy transfer, correct?" Miidori nodded distractedly and chopped the shovel into the wood again. "Listen… I need you to feed your energy into Houshi-kun's power store to help him sustain the barrier until I get back, alright?" Miidori looked to Dev, then to Okuri, and finally to Kagome as if asking permission to halt her assigned task. Kagome nodded seriously. Miidori smiled and dropped the shovel to dash to Okuri's side, putting her hands on his shoulders and allowing her spiritual energy to leak through her fingers and enter Okuri's body. Okuri straightened some as more strength was found and Dev looked to Kagome, pointing at the tree. "You keep working. I'm going to get us some help."
Kagome picked up her shovel, but paused before digging it into the bark again. "Dev, who is possibly going to help us with something like this?"
"I have someone in mind." Dev cried back as she streaked away from the tree and out of the village, unseen by the villagers.
"Hurry…" Kagome breathed as she attacked the tree once more.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Great…" Dev muttered to herself. "Now what? I may be able to find him easily enough, but how do I get him to notice me? He can't even see me." She sighed and considered her options. "I could write something on a piece of paper, but someone like him is rather less inclined to believe disembodied messages, written or no. He has to see me to do anything." She paused in her thought, her thinking going deep enough that her flight even slowed. "Well… what about…? It's only been theory up until now, but with the alteration… I'll bet I can do it!" She held out her hands to open a wormhole, rolling her eyes. "Hope I have enough energy to get back afterwards."
Dev dashed into the wormhole, creating a shortcut to a large castle set on a long flat piece of land in the Western section of what was once Japan. She dashed into the nearest window, and began flying down hallways and corridors, dashing in and out of bedrooms and living rooms, searching for the castle's owner, all the while, concentrating half of her consciousness into pulling energy from the surrounding air to fully occupy her body's energy store.
"Oh where is he?" She growled, heading up to the second floor. She began to speed down a long hallway, flying in and out of the branching rooms. In one of the last rooms in the corridor, she stopped, squinting at the bed through the darkness. There was a giant canopied bed sitting in the center of the space, a fireplace along the adjacent wall, and a large window on either side of the bed. But it was what was in the bed that caught her eye. She flew closer to find the object of her visit slumbering quietly. Sesshomaru lay covered to the waist in thick decorated blanket, his lithe body nestled comfortably in the large fluffy boa that always sat over his shoulder. He wore, not his normal floral kimono, but a simple white one meant for either bathing or sleeping. His face looked unexpectedly elven and beautiful in the dark room, peaceful in quiet sleep.
Dev shook these thoughts from her mind and held her hands at heart-level, pulling energy from her full store. Magenta light appeared at her chest and glowed brightly, casting faint shadows on the wall, pulling her energy from the spiritual realm to the realm of the casually living. Once she was sure that her energy was fully visible, she held out her hand and gathered yet another ball of energy there, making it into a small sphere. With a grunt, she tossed the ball as if it were a projectile of snow, hitting the sleeping lord's temple as if on radar. Sesshomaru jerked awake, sitting bolt upright as an image flashed across his mind;
The Priestess Kikyo screaming at him for his assistance.
"What the hell?" he whispered.
"Hey!" He looked to the right to see a small glowing figure floating several inches away. "Sesshomaru!"
Sesshomaru stared at it for a long half-asleep, bleary-eyed moment. He then flopped back onto his furry pelt, swatting at it lazily as if trying to shoo away a fly. He was instantly asleep again. For about half a minute. This time, the entire magenta light smacked into his head, the increased force pulling him completely from his slumber. He sat up again and growled sleepily at the light. "Damn bug…" he growled.
The magenta light once again smacked him full force, this time in the nose. The image flashed across his vision again, and he pinched his nose slightly. "What?" He demanded grouchily, rather put out from having been rudely interrupted in the middle of his noontime nap.
"Kikyo-sama needs some help. Go help her Sesshomaru." It commanded.
"Wh… why should I?" he shot back, feeling rather foolish to be speaking to something he didn't really know fully existed.
"Listen, she needs your help with something and she needs it now! You need to go meet her in the Goshin Boku villages."
Sesshomaru lay back down, throwing his forearm across his eyes. "Why should I?" he repeated, desperate to get this small thing away and get back to sleep.
"You owe her! She saved your life you ungrateful dog!" she answered angrily.
Sesshomaru sat up again, an exasperated expression on his face. "Damn her…" He had to admit that he hated being indebted to a human, and considering he had a chance to repay her, he might as well get it over with. He finally flung the blankets off with frustrated vigor and stood, stretching slowly. If he was going to do anything for her, he was going to do it as fast as he damn well pleased. "She's at the Goshin Boku villages, eh? If I find out you're lying you little speck, I'll kill both you and your Preistess."
The light sighed and Sesshomaru could almost hear it roll its eyes. "Yeah yeah, just hurry."
Sesshomaru growled. Once again put out due to the bossy little firefly. He yawned slightly, rubbed a little sleep from his eyes and dashed out of the room to change clothes.
Dev sighed and the magenta light in her chest faded. Panting slightly, she held out her hands to open a wormhole to head home.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Kagome dug her shovel into the tree again and again, pulling away discouragingly small chunks of wood. She pulled her sleeve across her forehead, wiping sweat away. Her ears were beginning to ring with the sound of the protesting villagers, but she did her best to tune them out. All I have to do is reach the arrow. I could get to him by sending a burst of energy deep into the trunk, but if I try and push a spear into it, I could hit Inuyasha. Not only that, but even assuming I could judge where he is enough not to hit him, the wood's too thick to push anything in. I need a way to soften or weaken the wood.
"Kikyo-sama!" Miidori suddenly cried, pulling Kagome's attention behind her. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Okuri's limp body resting in Miidori's small arms. "Okuri-sama has collapsed! I'm keeping the barrier up, but it won't last long!"
"Hurry up, Dev." Kagome muttered, hacking away at the tree more vigorously than before. She needed only wait a few seconds more as a haunting roar shot through the area, silencing the villagers, and pointing all attention at the enormous dog demon stomping his way to the village entrance. An explosion of smoke and hissing shrank the dog down to a creature that, save for a few small features, looked human. Kagome's face brightened instantly. It was an odd feeling of relief that passed through her. In the normal world, this dreature's appearance would strike fear, concern, and anger into her mind, but now… he was a welcome sight. She pointed at her heir. "Miidori-chan! Let him through the barrier!" The apprentice nodded, adjusting Okuri's position in her arms and watching Sesshomaru's approach carefully, calculating the exact time to open a hole in the barrier.
Sesshomaru glanced around as he headed to where he could see the priestess standing. He then accessed the situation. Apparently she was being quite the rebel. What rebellion she was performing, he didn't know, nor did he care. He was here to close a debt and that was all. He had to admit however, that the number of humans around angered him. He really didn't want the humans assuming he made a habit of helping their kind. But he was already here. Turning and running would only put upon him the image of a coward, afraid of a young girl with spiritual prowess. Powerful prowess, but nonetheless. He headed through the group of humans surrounding the tree as they parted for him like the Red Sea. He sent glares at any who dared make eye contact with him, attempting to communicate through his eyes that he was here in a disgruntled fashion.
He waltzed through the barrier and headed for where Kagome stood. He glared down at her. "Oh yeah… you're in real danger. God forbid you suffer a scolding at the hands of the rest of this filth." He huffed sarcastically.
"Shut up." Kagome growled quietly, seeing more of Inuyasha in him than she cared to. "Sesshomaru, all I need you to do is weaken the bark right here with your poison." She put her hand on the bark directly over where she could sense the trapped hanyou.
Sesshomaru growled at her retort, but then rolled his eyes and held up his hand, claws glowing green with charged poison. At least he didn't have exert himself to accomplish his task. Having to wear himself out on account of this human would have been most mortifying. He wound his hand back to charge his claws into the wood, but Kagome grabbed his arm. "Wait… don't go too deep, alright?" Sesshomaru sighed and rolled his eyes again. He charged his hand foreward, burying his claws in the wood. With deadly accuracy, he leaked his greenish poison into the bark a few feet, stopping slightly shallow as she requested. A deep thrum sounded from the tree as the bark was instantly and roughly weakened.
After a moment, he removed his hand, shaking the access poison from his claws. He turned to leave, but stopped to look at her. "We're even." He muttered.
As he exited the barrier, Kagome whispered, "Thank you."
Sesshomaru was instantly gone.
Kagome wasted no time in seizing a spear and shoving the tip of it into the weakened bark. With a grunt, she pumped energy into the wood, shooting it through the tip and into the tree. The energy gathered within the tree and exploded with a sickening crack, sending chunks of wood to the ground around the roots. Kagome shielded her face from the smaller splinters of wood as she was blown back onto her butt by the blast. She looked up, searching the tree for something she could use. Hope shot through her body for two things were now visible.
Half of an arrow shaft, and the top of a white head decorated with a small fuzzy dog ear.
Kagome leapt to her feet, a broad smile spreading across her face, a seized the arrow shaft. With a sharp jerk, the arrow burst into a flurry of lavender light, and a red figure seemed to melt away from the tree. She allowed the figure to fall against her as the tree relinquished its 500-year captive. As she settled into a kneeling position, hugging his body against her own. She stoked the top of his head gently. "I've got you Inuyasha. You're finally free…"
"Kikyo-sama!" Miidori cried from her position, her voice terribly strained. Kagome looked up, tightening her hold on Inuyasha's body. "I can't hold up the barrier anymore! The villagers!"
Her attention was once again drawn to the villagers. Some of whom were now crying in a mix of betrayal and grief. Others simply looked completely off their rocker with rage at her disembowelment of their one protection against Naraku's pillaging onslaught. She stared around at the lot of them, her mind frantically trying to produce some kind of solution. She finally held up her hand, staring a rather loud villager down until he quieted down. She then moved her eyes to a loud woman, also staring at her until she quieted. She continued to move her eyes areound until the loudest quieted and the surrounding rioters quieted as well, the realization that something important was happening dawning on them. Once it was quiet enough that Kagome could yell loud enough to rise above those who had not yet gotten the message.
"Stop!" She cried. "Listen to me! This creature is the source of the Goshin Boku's power since he was sealed 50 years ago! This is the very source of the power that protected you! A fully sentient and powerful warrior. His power can help to bring Naraku down." There was a long pause amongst the villagers. Kagome set Inuyasha's torso gently on the ground and stood to be better heard. Not only that, but her intimate contact with Inuyasha was probably not such a good idea at this time. The villagers now doubted her intentions and her trustworthiness simply because she had taken down their 500-year form of protection. Showing the fact that she was actually in love with this half-breed would not only lose her even more trust, but also would most likely make her to seem crazy. For who could possibly bein love with a creature of myth, one that is not fully human, and one who has been sealed away for around 500 years?
"Please... as your head Priestess... I ask yo to trust me. I don't believe I have ever betrayed your trust before, and I do all this so that we may someday live in a wrld free of Naraku's hold. This creature," She motioned to Inuyasha with an open hand. "Can help bring about that world. He has the power and the will to defy and attack Naraku. I give you my word as Priestess that this is for the best intrest of our village and even the human race in decline." She felt rather odd to be using such presumptuous phrases. But when one does something as seemingly devastating as the thing that she had performed, it seemed only natural that the people offended should require large and overtly powerful words to calm their fears.
A small form pushed through the crowd after a moment. "I trust you, Kikyo-sama! And I am with you!" Kagome looked down at her younger brother and smiled at him. He smiled back at her and looked expectantly behind him as his mother and grandfather joined them.
"As are we. We are with you to the end, Priestess." the woman continued, giving her same saint-like gentle smile she always seemed to wear.
Not long after, Miidori's family stepped up, offering their support. Little by little, the group of supporters grew and grew until a hesitantly unanimous vote claimed that Kagome could care for Inuyasha. The village had put a trust in their guardian, but it was not a omplete trust. Their faith stood upon the blade of a knife, as they say. Any small obstruction could send them toppling over the side to either complete faith, or complete mistrust.
Kagome sighed, smiling around her. But her smile vanished almost immediately as a soft thud was heard. Miidori had completely collasped, she and the young bandit lay in a pile not to far from the closest villagers. Kagome rushed to their side, knelt, gave them a medical once-over, then stood. "Take these two into my home immediately. Mother, if you would please prepare three futons in the main living quarters." The woman nodded dutifully and hurried off to her assigned task. "Jimen-san and Timirei-san, please pick up these two and lay them on two of the futons my mother will prepare." The two men nodded and stooped to obey. Kagome then turned around, calling over her shoulder, "Souta, please fetch a large pail of cool water from the river. Mirani-san and Nigena-san, please come with me." Souta was instantly running toward the storehouse for a pail, and the two called men followed their Priestess over to where Inuyasha lay. She knelt beside him. "This creature's name is Inuyasha. Please carry him into my home as well, and lay him on one of the futons my mother is setting out. Be very gentle with him. He has been through a lot lately." The men nodded and gingerly scooped him up, one holding his legs, the other holding his torso and headed away.
Kagome headed back to the crowd and looked to her grandfather and Miidori's parents. "Jii-chan, Irandi-san-tachi. I am going to gather some medicinal herbs for Okuri-sama and Miidori-chan. I trust you three well. Will you please care for Inuyasha, Okuri-sama, and Miidori-chan until I get back? If Inuyasha awakens before I return, please send word to me immediately for I cannot say what he will do when he comes to. If I do not come soon enough, please tell him that Kikyo waits for him outside the village and that will lead him away from you and toward me."
Miidori's mother raised an eyebrow. "Get him away from us...? Kikyo-sama... are you saying that this creature, this Inuyasha, is dangerous?"
Kagome paused, and blushed. "Well... not exactly, Irandi-san. He will be confused. The conditions of his confines will leave him bitter, confused, and in great pain. In his confusion, he could go a bit out of control. However, if he finds out Kikyo is nearby, he will come for me immediately."
"But Kikyo-sama... would that not put you in danger?" Her grandfather inquired, his voice dripping with concern.
Kagome shook her head. "Don't worry, Jii-chan. I know how to handle one such as him."
The three sighed and nodded. "We will do as you say, Kikyo-sama." Miidori's father answered. They immediately departed for her house.
Kagome sighed and stood where she was for a long moment, looking at the group of departing villagers. She wasn't sure how she had done it, but she had managed to revive Inuyasha and was now once again graced with his presence. A sense of security swept through her. She had once, as she barely recollected, said that there as something about Inuyasha that made it seem that when you were in his presence, nothing could harm you. Perhaps it was his rough look or even his big talk. Whatever it was, the objective of taking down Naraku seemed suddenly less impossible. After that was accomplished, perhaps she could research a way to reverse the damage she had done. Either way, the revival of the half-breed seemed to signify that she was indeed progressing. Up until this point the progress she had achieved, if any, was sluggish. But now there was solid and tangible proof that their efforts weren't for naught.
It suddenly struck Kagome how absurd this world seemed to be making her. She thought back to her conversation with the Irandi's and her grandfather. Had she truly said, "please send word to me immediately for I cannot say what he will do when he comes to?" She was slowly but surely slipping into the method of speech here. Obviously, as it was plainly seen around, the reign of Naraku had prevented the advance of technology. she had noticed that some form of electricity had been invented due to the crude lamps in the huts, but beyond that there was very little. And speech and dress were just as lagged behind as the rest of it. She had seen several unconventional kimonos on a few of the villagers, such as something akin to a t-chirt, but nothing in the way of a skirt or normal-sized jeans. She was faintly aware that these new methods were not only filling her mind, but still they pushed away room in her subconscious that had once belonged to the unaltered world. Once again, she was slowly forgetting what her life once was, and coming to accept the current reality as the only one she could live in. Though the desire still burned in the back of her mind to change the world back to its former state, and that was something, she figured, she would never be rid of. But as for right now, it was better to fix her mistake.
A small and familiar prick in the back of her mind sent her gaze downward to see a small magenta ball of light appear just a few inches off the ground. It morphed into the form of a rather tired looking Dev after a moment, and Kagome stooped to look at her. The magenta faded away and Dev's wings slowed to a stop, dropping her toward the ground. Kagome gasped and her hands shot out to catch her. "Dev? What's wrong?"
Dev shook her head and smiled up at Kagome. "Nothing, Kagome-san. It just took a lot of energy to get Sesshomaru's attention."
Kagome stood and smiled at her. "Well, he came, and he helped. Thank you Dev. You did very well."
Dev rolled half-lidded eyes. "Don't get mushy on me. I'm getting some shut-eye" Her eyes closed and she was asleep within minutes.
Kagome smiled again at the small sprite in her hands. She hadn't planned on returning to the house before leaving on her herb-hunt, but she figured Dev was worth the extra trip. She had done her share.
Kitty-chan: Whew! Well... that was fun. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. And no confusing talk this time. That was nice. Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon! I'll give ya a little preview down here.
"Why isn't he awake? Last time, he woke up at the scent of my blood. Now he hasn't woken up even after I freed him. Why not?"
Some movement to her right caught her eye, and she looked down. Her eyes widened to see her silver-haired companion slowly sitting up and batting his eyes at the bright sunlight streaming in the front window.
Finally, he uttered something that half-shocked, half-excited her.
"Ka... Kagome."
Well, review! I need reviews! XD Flames accepted. Tell me what you think!