AN: ducks wave of rotten vegetables Yeah, I know, I know, I've only disappeared off the face of the planet for ages and this isn't the update you've been waiting for (cough cough Protect me). But I just realized that I had a few more chapters of this tucked away, and figured I could at least update something! And besides, chapter 16 of PM isn't even done... it's a pretty important chapter and I can't get the dialogue to run smoothly. I swear, I AM working on it though... it hasn't just sat in my computer idle for the last few months. Every once in a while I'll pull it out, but what I want to say won't come out right.

I promise, though, when it finally does, it'll be out here, okay? At least enjoy this, okay? I really do like this plot line... Puh-wease? puppy dog eyes

Soul

Chapter 5

The real quest

About a quarter of a mile away from the city, I glanced back over my shoulder for what must have been the millionth time, had I been counting. And, like each of the nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine times before, I breathed a sigh of relief at the empty wasteland that greeted my paranoid glance.

Turning back to face my path, I stopped and leaned my bike on its stand, taking the time to wipe my brow. It was still pretty dark outside seeing as the mountains still held onto as much of the sun's rays as possible, but the humidity was already starting to rise.

"Certainly too warm to be walking anymore," I thought aloud, moving around the bike, studying it carefully.

I couldn't help but grin at my beautiful beast, as I called it. Motorcycles were a rare thing to come across, and I could hardly believe it when I stumbled across an old, rusty one in Mr. Genki's junkyard two years ago. Sure, the outside was almost completely corroded away, and resembled an undead creature more than any kind of machinery back then, but the inside was hardly touched, and still in working order after a little bit of tuning up. After he let me keep it, I worked on it daily for close to eight months, gathering every scrap metal I could find that wasn't being used, and working in the old geezer's shop for ages to pay for his services. But in the end, he did a rather commendable job of working the metal into a new shell for the bike. Within a few more days, my beautiful beast was born.

My grin grew, however, as my fingers reached out to stroke the smooth, pink surface, compliments of Sango. Even the seat was covered in a rather rough, yet no less beautiful green leather hide, probably earned from one of the demon raids earlier in the year.

So absorbed was I in admiring my friend's work that I hardly noticed the dark shadow looming over me until it was too late. When I spotted it creeping up the side of the seat, I gasped and spun around, prepared to fight till the bitter end.

"So, I assume you like the bike, then?"

My shock only lasted for a moment before I thrust a shaky pointed finger, screaming, "You?"

Sango smirked, arms crossed over her chest. "Yup… me."

"B-but… what are you doing-"

"Kagome, don't insult me," Sango chided, rolling her eyes as she uncrossed her arms, reaching out to grab my shaking hand and turn it to place something in my palm. "I believe this is yours."

I blinked, confused, as I looked down to the small object she placed in my hand.

"My… my hair clip?"

She nodded. "Tossing it into the hallway to distract me… come on, Kagome, you don't think I'm that stupid, do you?"

"But, I-"

"Sure enough, when I found the clip on the ground, I knew exactly what you were doing… in fact, just before I locked the door, I came close to busting you, right then and there."

I frowned, brows furrowing in confusion. "But you didn't."

Sango nodded, shrugging as she smiled and moved around to the other side of the bike. "I don't like Lady Higurashi going off like this any better than you do. She may not be my mother… but she's been the closest thing to one for the last eight years. I'm not about to let her throw her life away for some valiant cause." Then she eyed me carefully, adding, "And I'm not about to let you do the same thing, either."

This time, my brows lowered dangerously, huffing my chest for the argument I knew was to follow.

It deflated me a little when she laughed, waving her hand at me dismissively. "Kagome, don't even start. I'm not going to stop you. I'm simply following your mother's orders, as I'm sure you overheard."

My brows shot up, now, in surprise.

She chuckled. "Your mother gave me explicit instructions to stay with you, so that's what I'm doing."

My right eyebrow twitched. I was sure to get a headache from all this, sooner or later. "So, you're coming?"

"Of course I am," she replied airily, swinging her leg over the back of my bike with ease. "You didn't think you would walk up to Naraku's front door without me, did you?"

Finally, my apprehensions wore off, and I shook my head, laughing lightly. "No… of course not. What would have given you that idea?"

I moved closer to the bike and hopped on in front of her as she leaned forward, tapping the handlebars lightly. "I'll admit, not using your bike until you were out of hearing range was smart. And if I weren't so good a tracker, I wouldn't have noticed the small marks in the ground you made."

I tilted my head back to glance at her through the corner of my eyes. "Marks? What marks?"

Sango grinned smugly. "When you push your bike across rough terrain like this, you put pressure more pressure into your toes, and it's enough to barely break the surface of the dry ground. I could see the breaks all over the place."

I rolled my eyes, yet couldn't resist throwing my head back and laughing long and loud. Sango's coming with me, huh? This certainly wouldn't be a boring trip.

"You're right. What would I do without you?" I asked as I roared the engine to life, revving it a few times just for the sheer joy of listening to my engine.

Sango's hands came around my waist and squeezed lightly, her mouth coming close to my ear as she shouted over the engine, "At least now, we won't have to find out!"

Suddenly, I kicked at the stand and braced my feet against the rests, gearing the engine and shooting forward. The wasteland echoed with its smooth purring and our combined laughter.

"Naraku's castle is right here," Sango said, pointing to the corresponding point on the map.

I nodded, taking another bite of my roll, encouraging her to continue.

She moved her finger about six or seven inches to where a much smaller green castle sat. "This is our city." Then, her finger moved about an inch, hovering over a bunch of doodles of trees. "And we're right here."

Sango sat back, leaning back against the tree trunk and biting into her own roll. "Lady Higurashi and her troop are moving by foot, which gives us the advantage of speed. If we keep this up, we should be at Naraku's by sunset, the day after tomorrow."

I nodded, reaching for my water canteen. "How long would it take Mother and the men?"

Sango shrugged. "It's doubtful they'd even leave, now."

I choked on the water, thumping my chest as I eyed Sango, questioningly. "What do you mean by that?"

Sango's eyebrow quirked. "Well, what else could they do if they don't even have the jewel? You have it, remember?"

I coughed down the remainder of the water in my throat and sighed, reaching for the jewel hanging on its leather binding, fingering the shard thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right."

Sango snorted. "Of course I am. I thought we'd already been through this?"

I chuckled and reached back for my pack. "Yes, how could I have forgotten."

My friend smiled, tearing off another chunk of bread. "As long as you remember."

I shoved my pack away as I found what I was looking for.

Sango's eyes lit up curiously. "Hey, I remember that. That's your father's journal, isn't it?"

I nodded, eyes not straying from the pages as I thumbed through it. "Yup. The jewel was inside it."

Sango's eyebrows lifted in understanding. "You mean that bookmarker your mother used? Right before you threw your tantrums? That was the jewel?"

"Yup," I replied, somewhat distracted as my eyes skimmed over the words.

"Huh," Sango muttered, staring down at the fire thoughtfully. "Who would have guessed?"

I nodded absently, flipping the page.

"Hey."

Sango looked up at me. "What is it?"

I frowned. "I don't remember this one, in here," I replied, pointing to the unfamiliar words.

"Read it aloud," Sango suggested.

"Kay… 'To my Kagome'… huh?"

"What's wrong?"

I stared at the words, then flipped back a few pages to glance at the other headings. "All his other journal entries are addressed to me, but never once did he call me Kagome. He always called me 'my little princess'."

Sango shrugged. "Keep reading, and maybe you'll find out why."

Still disturbed, I flipped back and continued reading. "'I must confess, you were never intended to possess this book. Your Mother was always to read it to you as you went to sleep, but never this far. If you do have it, and you are reading this, then something must be wrong, and it will undoubtedly be because of the Shikon jewel.'"

At the mention of the jewel, I looked up to find Sango straightened, leaning forward as she listened. Our eyes met for a brief moment, our thoughts most certainly the same- The jewel? He knew troubles would arise around the jewel?

Sango nudged her chin toward the book, a silent request to continue, and I nodded, looking back to the words. "'If your Mother has done a good job, which I know she has, you probably don't know what this jewel is. I will tell you, because it is something you need to know in order to face the problems that you will be coming your way.'

'The Shikon jewel is a legendary stone created by the priestess, Midoriko. You should remember her from the stories Lady Kaede used to tell you as a very young girl. But you do not know the entire story.'

'Many many years ago, before the demons dominated the planet, humans coexisted with demons, not quite in harmony, but in more of a tolerance of each other. Demons would attack from time to time, but never posed that much of a threat because of the very powerful mikos, special people that possessed great holy powers that the demons feared. And so, the humans were relatively safe.'

'However, the abilities of a miko are not easily acquired. Not even I really know how one becomes a miko, and as humanity continued to thrive, fewer and fewer mikos were present. Finally, the miko population dwindled to one last girl- Midoriko.'

'It was during Midoriko's time that the first demon threat arose. Great masses of them attack, their evil ever mounting, and Midoriko was the only defense against them. But, being a very powerful miko, she was able to stop the force of demons with a single, brave sacrifice. Using her own life energy as a sealant, she sealed all the power and strength of the evil within a small, round jewel- the Shikon jewel.'

'Since then, its power has been sought by both humans and demons, alike. Human greed, demon greed, neither were very different. But Midoriko prepared for such a reaction. As she died amongst the concentrated evil, using her own power to purify it, her last willing wish was that it couldn't be used by those who wish to control its power. After the jewel, containing all the evil, had been purified, it burst into many small shards, one of which you hold with you. Anyone wishing to use it must first gather all the pieces to unlock its power.'

'Over time, many have tried, and different groups of both humans and demons succeeded in collecting enough to form several, separate pieces of the jewel. If I'm correct, there should be four large portions scattered across the country.'

'My dear Kagome, if you have read this far, then you must by now understand your task. Naraku, the demon lord, wishes to possess the jewel for his own benefit, using its power to unleash a wave of destruction over the planet like nothing either demons or humans have ever seen before. My sweet daughter, its up to you to recover the completed jewel before he does.'

'I realize this must be an incredible thing for me to ask you, and your Mother will have undoubtedly try her own hand at taking care of the task for you. You must understand that she loves you dearly, as I do, and doesn't want you to have to deal with the pressures of the task I'm asking. But I believe you can do it. I have seen a light in you that I believe can overcome the impending darkness. I do not have a doubt in my heart that you can do this and protect not only us humans, but the entire world from its devastating fate.'

'Please, do not underestimate your inner strength, my Kagome. In this troubled time, you will discover your own shine. I know you will.'

'I'll always love you, my little princess,'

'Daddy'

After reading that, I sat back, staring blankly into space. Sango did similarly, but at the corner of her consciousness, watched me for my reaction.

I vaguely wondered if she was slightly disappointed at my lack of reaction as I continued staring, not saying a word, slowly letting what I read process through my mind.

Ah, but my good friend does know me well. For soon enough, she was definitely not disappointed.

And so I screamed.

Nice and loud.

AN: Were there any reviews? I didn't even check... I'm sure there were, and for those that did review, I thank you and apologize for the lack of response. You guys all rock!

Next Chapter: So what're we going to do, now?

This has all been a lot for our little Kagome to handle... what with her dad and mom and Naraku and screaming and stuff. So, she takes a bit of time trying to figure out what move to make next. It doesn't help that she gets distracted by a... uh... cough fiercesome warrior and his... uh, damsel in distress. Don't worry... they'll be familiar.