Shikon Shards and Obsidian Mirrors.
Chapter 3: Tale of the Past, Shikon kakera
By: LadyRainStarDragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

An elderly man with a grey topknot and traditional kimono and hakama quietly shuffled up to the group, having closed the shrine's shop for the day.

"When you are done Take-sama, I believe that you should come inside." Higurashi-daitoku bowed to the now erect for of the visiting dragon and then smiled at his grandchild. "Kagome, how nice to see you home."

Ryu nodded his thanks to Higurashi-daitoku before raising an eyebrow at BlowingWind and extending his elbow in invitation. BlowingWind took it and did her best to avoid his gaze as he smiled in triumph. As this was occurring Kagome took her face out of her hands to look at her grandfather.

"I'm beginning to think maybe I shouldn't have today."

"Nonsense. Your mother said that she knew you would be coming back today, and your arrival probably saved Take-sama's life. MountainChild-san was going to use a bow next, and he had made the mistake of teaching her how to use it not so long ago."

He began ushering the young adults into the house, separating Houjo and Inuyasha on instinct. It did no good though, Inuyasha still griped.

"Keh!"

Higurashi-nisou, Souta and Kagome's widowed mother was waiting in the living room with Souta, who was busy playing games on his Playstation. Without a word, Ryu pulled BlowingWind down with him in one corner, as if he had been seated there many a time in the past week. Kagome sat on the couch with Inuyasha at her feet. Houjo cat in a chair nearby and Ji-san paced the room.

After a short time, Ji-san turned to his granddaughter.

"You have to tell him. Mama and I are having troubles, and you need some allies in this time that know what you are going through besides us."

"But Ji-chan!"

"Kagome, you must. If you can't then I will."

"Keh!" Inuyasha broke in. "What good can he do Kagome?"

"Inuyasha, his family has old connections to our shrine. Although he is not a hereditary priest like those of our family, there is much that he may be able to help with." Higurashi-nisou murmured, smiling. "Besides, his knowing our secret may make it easier for us to convince the school that she is indisposed."

Inuyasha glowered at Houjo, trying to respect Kagome's mother.

"If I can be of any help, I will gladly do anything." Houjo replied and watched Kagome.

Kagome kept silent, gazing into her lap and shading her eyes with her bangs. Ryu shook his head and spoke before Higurashi-daitoku could.

"Five hundred years ago, give or take a few years, the Shikon no Tama or Jewel of Four Souls came into the keeping of a Miko that history tells us went by the name of Kikyou. A grave misunderstanding occurred between this Miko and someone that cared for her very deeply, taking both their lives, or so it was thought. The jewel was burned with her body to prevent it from falling into evil hands. Fifty years later, both the jewel and a young woman greatly resembling Kikyou were found. In an accident, the jewel shattered, spreading across the lands. Even the tiniest shard could grant immense power, and so many fought for control of these shards, but one more so than any others, who was also responsible for the original misunderstanding."

All eyes fell on Ryu as he told the story, save for those of his own Miko who he held in his lap although she looked like she would have rather been anywhere else.

"How do you know this?" Inuyasha raged.

Ryu was unperturbed, turning his eyes carefully on the young inu-gami hanyou and continuing his story.

"I am a historian, and during this period of time I heard many stories involving this jewel. It even effected my own family, resulting in a cousin of mine through marriage being temporarily overthrown by his former servant who was a water snake. A group of wanderers helped him regain his trident, although he was greatly distressed to have been mistaken for a woman and flirted with by the monk that was part of the band. I told him those earrings made him look like a woman, but they were part of the ceremonial regalia."

Ryu's smile at the thought broke through while Inuyasha gagged, then began laughing.

"Wait till I tell him he hit on a water god and not a water goddess like we had thought."

The dragon nodded.

"What happened next?" Houjo broke in.

"The Miko and her hanyou guardian, who was unsealed by her own hand, had to search for the jewels. They sit right there." Ryu gestured to Kagome and Inuyasha as BlowingWind began to yawn and relax into him.

"What did happen next?" Kagome had finally found her voice.

Ryu sighed and shook his head.

"If I tell you, it might affect your future. For me, this all happened five hundred years in the past even though for you it is now. BlowingWind, are you alright?"

Ryu eyed his Miko as she yawned again.

"I guess that tamashii was trying to escape. I'm very sleepy."

"More than likely that is a result of trying to kill me again. You need to control your temper better."

"Tamashii?" Houjo continued looking lost as Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Keh! Tamashii, soul bits. The onna's soul's broken, and this dragon is helping her gather them again because he wants her to be his woman."

"Inuyasha! Osuwari!"

"KU-!" Inuyasha's face introduced itself to the carpet forcefully.

"Kagome!"

"Gomen Mama."

BlowingWind watched curiously as Inuyasha pried himself off of the floor after Kagome's binding spell had worn off. "I wish I could do that. That looks useful."

Ryu winced.

"Not as delicately as I would have said, but true none-the-less. I have claimed BlowingWind as my own, but for her sake I am helping to retrieve her souls. Kagome, we have found something that I think you will be interested in."

BlowingWind blinked as he gently nudged her, then after sweeping her hair out of her face she removed a package from a pocket in her dress. "We found this in a jewelry shop. The proprietor was going to cut it and set it, but we convinced him to sell it to us the way it is."

Unwrapping the green tissue paper from the tiny plastic bag, BlowingWind displayed her strange find.

A small pink shard glinted up at the people in the room.

"This story may have been the past for Ryu, but for now it is our present as well. There are several in this time that I have been able to plot locations of while searching for myself. However, they don't seem to be in the material realm, with the exception of this one."

"How are you able to see these? Only Kagome and Kikyou are able to!" Inuyasha yelled in BlowingWind's face.

Kagome opened her mouth to utter the subjection word, but Ryu was too fast. In one fluid motion BlowingWind was behind him, and Inuyasha was under one foot as Ryu snarled.

"I may respect your family, but I will not tolerate you harassing my girlfriend. It is time for you to learn to control yourself better and use your vast energy in a more controlled manner. I can see why your brother is still so annoyed with you."

As Ryu fumed, he did not notice the angered woman getting ready to strike before his feet were swept out from under him. BlowingWind glowered down at the two males below her, then flounced to Kagome to both give her the jewel and to sit down on the sofa.

"I can take care of myself Ryu, that was unnecessary. He asked a question. I don't see them, I feel pieces of soul. I am looking for the pieces of my soul, but since this Jewel of Souls is broken it seems I can feel some of the pieces. If anybody has any more coherent explanation for this, then I'm all ears. I haven't gone very far in my training." BlowingWind continued muttering, this time incoherently as Ryu extracted himself from the position he had been dumped into.

"Great, now I smell like dragon." Inuyasha complained with his characteristic annoyance.

"Deal with it, I smell like him all the time." BlowingWind quipped.

"Well now, I think we should all have a nice dinner." Higurashi-nisou quickly changed the subject to something she hoped would preserve her home.

It is short, I am sorry.