Shikon Shards and Obsidian Mirrors.
Chapter 4: Night Portal
By: LadyRainStarDragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Kagome relaxed in a hot bath, the steam curling up around her as the water soothed weary muscles. The meal had not been the easiest one she had ever shared, and she had been very glad when Houjo, BlowingWind, and Ryu had left.
She knew that Inuyasha was waiting for her in her room, she could feel his glowering presence even in the sanctity of the bathroom. Kagome sank lower into the heated water.
"Not in the Material World."
The sigh fell from her lips like lead and she let her shoulders slip the rest of the way back into the water's embrace.
"Kami still interact bodily with the world, the Shikon no Kakera still exist but are found in the Spiritual counterpart of this world, and now Houjo knows about why I have been absent so much. I hope he doesn't tell the others, I can't have them getting involved in this."
Her eyes closed as she continued processing everything. Outside, a wind began to blow, and Goshinboku danced in it, singing his groaning songs of times past, present, and yet to be. Gradually, the groans began to take the shape of words in her mind, the flowery language of the ancient Japanese Norito twisting into a poem of indecipherable meaning only half-heard with her ears now in the water.
Soon enough, the song was done, and Kagome found herself waking up a few minutes later. She quickly got out and toweled off, covering the tub once more and getting into her pajamas.
"I need to go to bed."
Going out and closing the door behind her with a smart rap, Kagome turned and went to her room. There, Inuyasha was already asleep on the floor, or so it seemed, until she crawled into her bed. His golden eyes opened as her heart rate dropped into sleep, and once she was fully asleep he quickly left through her window.
A streak of red and white leapt up into the Goshinboku and settled on a branch for a night of watchfulness.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, another young woman was getting ready for bed, also wearied from her experiences through the day. As she toweled her hair dry, the bathroom door opened.
"Get out Ryu."
"I waited until you had your pajamas on Wind-chan."
His arms went around her, and tightened as a wind outside began to howl. BlowingWind shivered and backed into him. Words floated by that she could feel, her body responding to the magic behind them.
"What is the wind saying Ryu?"
His brown eyes narrowed as he held her tighter. He stifled a growl and the urge to take his natural form, the apartment being too small to accommodate him if he gave in.
"I don't know Koibito, but I don't like the magic in the air. I've never really been on very good terms with the wind spirits, but the portal you were looking for will be opening soon I think."
"I want to look for it Ryu."
"Of course, tomorrow. Tonight you need to rest." So saying, he scooped her up and calmly walked to the bedroom, depositing her on a plush futon covered in red and black.
He watched as the young woman fell asleep quickly, smiling as her innocence revealed itself in her repose, then quietly left the room to pace and listen for any more magic riding the air. The earth was restless; he could feel the other earth spirits tensing in wait to see whatever would be set in motion. Pausing at the large window in the living room, which overlooked the University that he had once taught at, he mused to himself.
"We have stayed so separate for so long, despite my own protests and those of several other spirits. I thought that all shards had been collected long ago."
The scenery did not reply, but the wind did begin to mock him, whispering of dangers to his charge and the changing of fate. Frowning, he firmly shut the window and then closed the blind.
The night was cold for summer, and the wind kept blowing intermittently, almost as if it were speaking. Inuyasha's amber eyes peered into the night, eschewing sleep and watching for danger. Below at street level, he could hear a young woman passing by at the base of the steps to the shrine, her heels clicking loudly and carrying easily to his ears.
Goshinboku groaned beneath the wind, as if he were muttering a counter spell of some type. Inuyasha would have liked to think that was a silly thought, but he knew better.
Motionless, he continued his watch and the steps eventually faded. The wind grew still again before a woman's shriek pierced the air.
"Kumiro!"
"Sora!" A man's voice answered her shriek.
"Feh!"
Inuyasha leaped out of the tree and practically flew to where the disturbance was, only to find a young man staring where the scent of a woman disappeared from the sidewalk. Something about him was familiar. Short black hair was pulled back into a small dragon's tail that stood out at the base of his neck, and a black suit much like the one Houjo often wore covered a slim body.
The young man's head snapped around from where he had been staring, and two amethyst eyes narrowed as they locked on the startled hanyou.
"Miroku? What are you doing here?" Inuyasha's surprise was evident in his voice.
The young man's eyes widened, then looked the hanyou over carefully.
"I am Taijiya Kumiro. There is a Miroku in my lineage though. Can you help me retrieve my sister?"