Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.
Chapter Nineteen: Heart and Soul
"Isn't reincarnation when a person dies and the soul is born into another body?" asks Shippo as he warmed his hands by the fire.
"Aye."
"Then how is it possible for a soul to be reborn if it never… well… left?" Three sets of eyes turned their attention onto the elderly miko.
"You ask how Midoriko's soul could be reborn into my sister and into Kagome and the others if her soul never left, is that correct?"
"Yeah."
She sighed. "It is unusual, I will admit. It is my belief that the heart and soul were so big, that only a portion could be captured. A sliver really. The strength of her soul allowed for the majority of it to escape from Naraku when he killed the body. The remainder is then reborn. Each time the soul is reborn it has a small gap missing. I believe that the soul that is reborn is so strong that it fills in these missing slivers with more power."
"So will each reincarnation be more powerful?" asked Miroku curiously.
"But that can only go on so long, right? I mean, you can't expect that those gaps can be filled forever. Wouldn't the soul become unstable?" Eventually it would crumble and collapse wouldn't it?"
"That is a very good possibility, Sango." The miko turned her attention back to her tea.
"Are you saying Kagome could implode or just fall apart or something?"
Kaede shrugged her shoulders at Shippo's question and took another sip of tea as she made a non-committal humming sound.
"Is the additional power why Naraku destroys the reincarnations?" asks the demon exterminator. "Does he want that power for himself or to power up this Midoriko person to bring her back to life?"
"That is another good question. One, I fear, that I do not have the answers for. He could be destroying them to gather the souls in much the same way that the shards of the jewel were gathered, to complete Midoriko's soul. It is also possible that he destroys the reincarnations because he feels that they should not exist. Perhaps he believes that he will not possess Midoriko completely until all of the reincarnations are destroyed."
"Just SHUT UP! All of you!"
Everyone turned to the dog demon in surprise. He had been silent for so long that they nearly forgot his presence. "I am SICK to DEATH of you talking about Kagome like she's a THING!" He got up from his spot on the floor and flexed his claws. "JUST SHUT UP!"
Pottery rattled as Inuyasha grabbed the yellow backpack and stomped out of the hut, knocking down anything in his path.
"Please forgive our hot tempered friend," said Miroku apologetically. "He is concerned about our traveling companion."
"SHE'S NOT JUST A TRAVELING COMPANION YOU STINKIN' MONK!"
Miroku gave a small smile, ignoring the sound of trees being torn up and mutilated. "Our hot tempered and hearing enhanced friend is concerned about our traveling companion and dear friend."
Once the sounds of mauling got a little further from the hut, the group continued their discussion, though this time with slightly hushed voices.
"Inuyasha saw one of the other reincarnations… your sister."
"Yes, Shippo. The soul of my sister is indeed in this game with us, though she is only a shadow and no longer a woman."
"But how is that possible? I mean, this is just a game after all."
Kaede sighed. "Perhaps you should cease to think of this world as a game, young kit. It is more of a mixture of technology and magic." She paused, but each was waiting for her to continue. She took another infuriatingly long sip of tea before continuing. "Your bodies are hooked up to a machine. It keeps your body working. It feeds you, lets you breathe, and allows your body to dispose of wastes."
"Ewww." Sango looked distinctly uncomfortable at the thought.
"But your mind and your soul are not in the computer. That would be impossible. A video game is something that you are familiar with, what you are comfortable with. It is a reality, of sorts, that you could accept. While your bodies were at rest, a spell was cast upon you. Your souls were absorbed into the Shikon Jewel as well. Now that Naraku has no more use for you he will let your bodies deteriorate and die."
"Then we'll just become shadows as well…"
"Aye monk, that you will."
They sat quietly, staring at the floor. Getting out of a video game was one thing, there were always ways to circumvent security settings in the computers, cheat codes for games, backdoors… but now they had to find a way to get their souls out of a jewel. Was there really such a thing as magic? Real magic?
"There must be a way out," said Shippo. "I mean, we've been all over this game, er… jewel… whatever… anyhow, we've covered almost every inch of this place and the only other priestess we found was Kikyo. That means that the others must have somehow escaped. So all we have to do is figure out how they did it."
Kaede shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, kit, but they others did not escape."
"Where are they?" asked Sango, though she wasn't really sure that she really wanted to know. So far they hadn't had a whole lot of good news.
"My sister was an especially strong miko. When she was captured she began to seek out the others. Over time she absorbed them into herself, making her stronger. Once that piece of the soul was absorbed, the other disappeared."
"That sounds a little gruesome," commented Shippo as he flicked his bushy tail back and forth. "Soul cannibalism?"
"Naraku is a very strong demon. His power was too strong for Midoriko. Your Kagome is no match for him. It is a shame that she does not possess the missing pieces of her soul. Perhaps then she would have the strength to save herself and defeat him."
"But if Midoriko wasn't strong enough how could Kagome be? I mean, Midoriko had her entire soul, Kagome's evidently has lots of chunks missing from it."
"Yes, Sango. But remember how the soul filled in those gaps with power. If the missing pieces were gathered and absorbed back into young Kagome, then she will be more powerful than even the original complete soul of Midoriko."
Miroku sighed as he stood up, stretching his sore muscles. "But this is all speculation."
"Aye."
Shippo looked at the elderly miko quizzically. "How do you know all this stuff, anyhow?"
Kaede smiled. "Kikyo."
ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo
Kagome's entire body hurt. She didn't know what it was about the chains that bound her, but it felt as if all of her energy was being sucked out of her body. Instinct told her to fight, but she didn't know what she was supposed to be fighting against. She was too afraid to sleep.
Earlier that morning Naraku had paid them a visit, no longer in the baboon pelt, but back into his regular slacks and sports coat that made him look like a normal business man. He had been pleasant. Very pleasant. The kind of pleasant that made a person suspicious, especially considering he was keeping her captive.
"You say you can feel Kikyo?"
Midoriko smiled. "You have to sleep sometime, young Kagome. Staying awake will not keep the spell from working."
Kagome shrugged and shifted her position. "Yeah, but talking will help keep me from, you know, completely freaking out here. So, you can feel Kikyo?"
"Yes. As I can feel you. We are tied together."
"Because we're the same person?"
Midoriko turned to face Kagome. "No. When a soul is reborn, it becomes a new and unique individual. Sharing the same soul does not make us the same. You are shaped by your life experiences and are your own person. I can feel you though, but that does not make you me."
"Can you talk to Kikyo?"
"Sometimes. And sometimes I hear her."
"Could you hear me?"
The older woman smiled sadly. "No, I can not hear you. You are still alive. But I can feel your soul. It calls to me."
Kagome made a face. She wasn't too sure how she felt about that statement.
ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo
"So, you're telling me that the old hag wants us to track down her sister?" Inuyasha crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the monk.
"Yes."
"The one that shot me with an arrow in the chest and pinned me to a tree?"
Miroku winced. "Yes."
"The one that tried to shoot Kagome?"
"Yes."
"Now why would I want to do that, monk?"
Taking a deep breath to calm his fraying nerves, the monk spoke through gritted teeth. "For the last time, Inuyasha, Kikyo has the rest of Kagome's soul. If we can reunite her with Kagome, then she has a chance at defeating Naraku."
"Tell me, monk," Inuyasha spat, "What happens if Kikyo assimilates Kagome's soul instead?"
"Highly unlikely, my dog eared friend. Kagome is alive and Kikyo is already dead. The soul would choose the live body, not the dead. I'm impressed you know what the word 'assimilate' means though."
Inuyasha ignored the insult. "What if Kikyo is stronger? She has all those other souls sucked up, doesn't she?"
"But she is dead. They all are. They will go into Kagome."
"And what about this Midoriko person? If she's still alive, won't the souls try to go back to her since she's the original?"
Miroku sighed. "If that's the case, then Kagome's soul is already gone."
Oops.
One of the monk's powers must be luck, since only moments before the sharp claws could reach his throat he was whisked away by Sango and Kirara.
"That mouth is going to get you in trouble one of these days," the exterminator grumbled. "And don't comment on that, you pervert." She turned to face the demon below her who was currently yelling obscenities. "Kaede thinks that we can use Kikyo to get us out of here since she is still connected to Midoriko, and likely to Kagome too."
Inuyasha stopped. Sango's heart broke when she saw the anguish in his eyes. But she didn't miss the small flicker of hope.
"It's our only chance to find Kagome."
"Feh." He cracked his knuckles before reaching down to pick up the yellow pack and throw it over his shoulders. "What are we waiting around here for? Let's go find the dead girl and get out of this place."
Sango turns to Miroku with a smirk. "See how easy that was?"
"I HEARD THAT!"
