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Chapter 25- Oki
"Why would I help you?" Kikyou stated coldly. She glared at the woman, not wanting anything to do with her.
"If you want InuYasha to live, and everyone else in this village, then I suggest you should listen to Kagome." Sesshoumaru said dryly, standing behind his miko.
Kikyou glanced at Sesshoumaru quickly and then returned her gaze to the young miko.
"Yo, what's this all about anyway? Why is everyone acting so serious and sad?" InuYasha suddenly bellowed out and walked up towards Kikyou. He stopped beside her, crossed his arms and looked back out at Kagome and Sesshoumaru with a confused look on his face. "Am I the only one that doesn't know what's going on?"
"No, you're not the only one. Kikyou doesn't know what's going on either. If she would set aside her hatred for me, then I could explain." Kagome said, beginning to glare back at Kikyou.
"What's going on out here?"
All their heads turned towards where the feeble voice came from and saw Kaede slowly coming towards them.
"Kikyou if ye glared any harder, ye'd be throwing daggers at Kagome." Kaede said sardonically.
"What could be so important that I have to be involved?" Kikyou asked.
'Yes, she's gonna listen! Even if it is reluctantly.' Kagome thought happily. "Kikyou if you help us, we may be able to save the youkai in this world."
"What are ye talking about?" Kaede asked, a concerned look crossing her face.
"Kaede, you may not believe me, but a big war is coming. A war to kill all the demons in the world. You know how in my era, there are no demons, only humans (save for Sesshoumaru of course)?" She asked.
"Yes." Kaede replied.
"Well there are no demons because a war is coming which is going to wipe the demons out." Kagome continued.
"How do we now you're right? And how would you know that a war is coming?" Kikyou asked, InuYasha by her side.
"Because Sesshoumaru did survive. And he went through it all. Please believe me, did you not see the large army of men that passed by this morning?" Kagome pleaded. She looked back and forth from Kaede to InuYasha, and then to Kikyou.
"Yes, we did see that loud army of humans pass by. I wanted to kill them for creating the earthquake that woke me up!" InuYasha said, forming his hand so that his claws were showing.
"Well, do you believe me yet? Those men were headed towards another army, where they will probably meet up and end up staring the war soon." Kagome said. She really wanted an answer.
Kaede looked stricken; like she couldn't believe that a war was coming.
Kikyou's eyes had lost a bit of their hostility, and she looked like she cared about what Kagome was saying.
InuYasha just looked confused.
"So, do you believe me?" She asked again.
Kaede smiled softly at Kagome. "Well, I can't see any better reason as to why there are no demons in the future. Besides, why else would there be an army of men marching through this land." She said, not only telling Kagome that she believed her, but trying to convince the other two.
"Thank you, Kaede." Kagome said, very happy that somebody believed her.
"Even if this is true, how could I help?" Kikyou asked.
"Wait, wait. So you're saying that there is a war coming that will kill all the demons?" InuYasha said, his face turning slightly red from stifling a laugh.
"Yes." Kagome replied.
InuYasha burst out laughing. "Like a bunch of humans could ever kill demons. They come near me and I'd just rip them apart." He said as he continued to laugh.
"InuYasha." Sesshoumaru said with his normal deep voice.
InuYasha stopped laughing and looked at the youkai.
"How do you think I got your sword?" The inu-youkai asked.
"I don't know! You probably just happened to stumble upon it when I lost it!" InuYasha retorted loudly.
"Is that so. How did you lose it?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly, which he knew pissed InuYasha off even more.
"I don't know! Stop asking me so many questions!"
"I'm asking you because it has to do with this war."
"What does my sword have to do with a war!"
"InuYasha, I got that sword from an old shop in Kagome's era. Do you know what that means?" He paused for a moment to see if InuYasha would say anything. "It means you probably died in this war." Sesshoumaru finished.
"What! I won't die." InuYasha replied confidently.
"InuYasha, how else could your sword have got in a shop? Unless you were gone, you would never have let it go." Kagome said, a hint of sadness in her voice. She didn't like to think of InuYasha's death.
InuYasha didn't know what to say.
"So, what are you suggesting? That we change the future?" Kikyou asked.
"Well, yes." Kagome replied.
"Do you really think that toiling with fate is a smart thing to do?" Kikyou said so softly that it almost freaked Kagome out.
'I never really thought of it that way before. But, what if changing the future could be for the better?' Kagome thought. "Well, if changing the future would mean that no demons would die, then why not give it a try?" She replied with hope in her words.
"Do you want to die InuYasha?" Sesshoumaru asked bluntly.
"I'm not gonna die!"
"Okay." Kikyou started, and before she could finish, Kagome butted in excitedly.
"Okay! You'll help?" Kagome said, her eyes glistening with happiness.
"I'll help if you give me back the jewel." The older miko finished.
Kagome was stunned, and so was Sesshoumaru for a moment. One of the last things they wanted to do was lose the jewel. It was their only chance of possibly living as long as one another.
"I am the original protector of the jewel. It is safest with me." Kikyou said, noticing the blank look on Kagome's face.
"Technically, I am now its protector because it was me who brought it in this world, and it was me that it was born from again." Kagome said in her pathetic attempt to convince Kikyou that the jewel belonged to her.
"Fine, then I will not help with this war."
"Kagome do you really want to fight against this war?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Kikyou, ye are being unreasonable." Kaede said.
Kagome had to seriously think of what Sesshoumaru asked her. She knew what he meant. He wanted her to decide between the jewel and stopping the war. It was such a hard choice for her. She loved Sesshoumaru more than anything in the world, yet she didn't want to see all the demons die in this war.
Sesshoumaru could see how sad and stressed she was getting and bend down so his mouth was a mere inch away from her ear. She didn't think he was actually going to let Kikyou win, did she? "Just give her the jewel." He whispered.
'What? Why is she telling me to give up the jewel so easily?' Kagome wondered. Did he not care as much if they could use the jewel or not? 'No, Sesshoumaru wouldn't give up so easily. He must have something up his kimono.' "Um, okay." She replied, gave him a weird look and then walked towards Kikyou. "If this will make you help us, then here, you can have it." She said and put the glowing pink jewel in Kikyou's open hands.
"Thank you." Kikyou said, and closed her hand over the jewel.
InuYasha couldn't believe it. He had run all the way to the Western Lands to get the jewel, and now they were giving it to Kikyou without a fight. "What! Why wouldn't you give me the jewel!" He hollered.
"Because you had nothing to offer us in return. Kikyou's offering her help." Kagome answered him.
"It's settled then. Kikyou will help you stop this war. Now it is very late and I would like you all to stop the racket and go to sleep." Kaede said, looking at InuYasha for his yelling. "Kagome, Sesshoumaru, and Rin, ye are welcome to sleep in my home." She said and turned around to walk back to her hut.
Kikyou stared as all three of them followed Kaede, then she went back into her own house.
"Why did you want me to give the jewel to Kikyou?" Kagome whispered.
"I'll get it back once the war is over." He replied quietly.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, why is there a war coming?" Rin piped up and asked.
"Because humans hate demons, so they are going to try and kill us all." Sesshoumaru replied.
"But me and Kagome don't hate you or any demons." Rin said with her childish voice.
"He knows Rin." Kagome said, knowing that where it was late at night and they had just spoke with Kikyou, he wouldn't feel much like talking.
"Here you are, make yourself at home." Kaede said and went to her own bed.
Kagome watched the old lady disappear. Kaede usually would have stayed up longer to talk with her, but she realized the Kaede was getting older and probably got tired easier.
"Come on, you must sleep Kagome. Tomorrow we are finishing your training." Sesshoumaru said and sat down to fall asleep.
"What are you doing this early in the morning!" InuYasha growled as he stepped out of his and Kikyou's house.
"Training." Kagome answered quickly as she blocked another harsh blow from Sesshoumaru's sword.
"Why are you training right before dawn?" He asked, blinking his tired eyes.
Kagome didn't answer, but swung her blade once again to block Sesshoumaru's. Except this time she not only blocked his throw, the same thing that happened when they had their first lesson happened. A bright purple light shot out of the blade and narrowly missed Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru, that happened a long time ago. I wonder why it suddenly decided to do it again?"
"I don't know." He said, making sure not to touch the blade. From what he remembered, last time it burnt his hand.
"There has to be a reason as to why it does it." Kagome said.
InuYasha marched right up to Sesshoumaru and Kagome with a brute look on his face. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He said.
"I don't know." Kagome replied, staring at Tensaiga's blade.
"This is the second time it happened, there must be some kind of coincidence between the two. Are you doing something different than you have the other times?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Not that I know of. I was just thinking of how many people could get hurt if we don't stop this war." Kagome answered, but she didn't think that had anything to do with what came out of the sword.
"Hm." Sesshoumaru stood staring at the sword and thinking. "Maybe...let's try it again. This time think of what you were before." He said and then positioned himself ready for attack again.
"Hey, don't you dare hurt Kagome!" InuYasha butted in and stood in front of her.
"InuYasha, please you don't want to make him angry. Sesshoumaru would never hurt me, besides you haven't seen how good I've gotten." Kagome said and pushed him out of the way.
InuYasha was surprised by her answer, but let her go and watched from behind.
Sesshoumaru rushed towards her with his sword and within seconds they both clashed again, and once again the purple light shot out of Tensaiga and this time went straight into Sesshoumaru's sword.
"Ah!" Sesshoumaru grunted and dropped the sword like it just bit him.
"What happened?" Kagome asked again.
"I think that time the power shot straight into my sword. It made it so my entire sword burned." Sesshoumaru replied, looking for a moment at his hand.
"It seemed though when I thought of people getting hurt that it worked again." Kagome said and picked up his sword to give back to him. For her it didn't burn at all.
"What kind of power is that?" InuYasha asked.
"Honestly, we haven't got a clue." Kagome replied.
Sesshoumaru touched the handle of the sword to make sure it was safe to take. "Why don't you try aiming it at something and see if it still works. Aim at that tree over there."
"Okay." She said and pointed towards the tree. The tree was about fifty feet away, so she wasn't sure if the power would make it that far.
"Okay, swing it." Sesshoumaru said.
InuYasha just stood by and watched.
Kagome thought about the war again and the people that could get hurt, and then swung the sword down. Out of the sword came the same light and it zipped through the air so fast that it hit the tree in seconds. "Wow. I think it almost cut through the tree."
"It's odd of Tensaiga. The sword doesn't have any power to hurt things, but right now, it could." Sesshoumaru said. "Now think of something else. Like, I don't know...chocolate." That was all he could think of.
"Alright." Kagome said, and turned to another big tree. Thinking of chocolate, she swung her sword and nothing happened. "Huh?"
"I think I know what's powering the sword." Sesshoumaru said, and walked up to Kagome. He took the sword out of her hand and inspected it.
"What?" She asked, awaiting anxiously for the answer.
"I think it's your pure miko powers, and human compassion that drives out the power. If you are trying to save humans from harm, then this sword will do it for you." He replied, not absolutely sure that he was right, but it was the best that he could think of.
"I think you're right." Kagome said.
"I think it's ridiculous and dangerous, and I don't want you flinging that thing around in my village!" InuYasha hollered and then turned back towards his house.
For the remainder of the morning Kagome and Sesshoumaru finished up their training and then took a break back at Kaede's house. The old miko was kind and served them tea and riceballs.
Rin had been awake for awhile and had helped Kaede with her chores and cooking. She sat at the table with a bright smile on her face and ate what she helped cook.
"We are gonna have to approach Kikyou soon and get her to talk to us and practice for the war." Kagome said.
"How do you plan on stopping this war?" Kaede asked.
"Well, by getting all of us three mikos together. We can all work together to form a barrier against the army." She replied.
"That sounds like the start to a plan. But I don't think three mikos will have near enough power to stop this war." Kaede said.
"I know." Kagome said, hanging her head. "But what else could we do?" She asked.
"Well, I know another miko. She's not too old, and not too young, and is fairly good from what I've heard." Kaede said.
Kagome lifted her head. "Really?"
"Yes. Her name is Oki. And she lives only a days walk from hear, in a village to the north."
"Oki, that is a very pretty name. Do you think she would help us if we explained what is going on?" Kagome asked, willing to do anything if it would help stop the war.
"Hai, Oki is a very kind woman."
"That sounds great! That means if we fly, it's only less than half a days travel. Sesshoumaru, why don't we go today!" Kagome said excitedly.
Sesshoumaru didn't feel much like traveling, but if the extra miko would help, then flying to a near village was worth it. "Alright, get want you need." He replied.
Sorry guys for the long wait, the next chapter will be up soon, and I promise it will be much longer!
