A/N: Just to let you know, I might not be able to update on Friday, because I have to go to my cousin's baby shower on Saturday, but that means driving all day Friday and all day Sunday. Like most of my family, they live in the middle of nowhere, so no wireless for me. I would usually complain about having to do to yet another family function, but I don't care this time. The baby was born before the shower so I get to see a cute widdle baby too!

Anyway, like I said before, eventually the fluff was going to get put aside for the EVIL! chapters. This one isn't EVIL! so much, it's more of what I would call an Impending DOoOoOoOm! chapter. But don't expect fluff every chapter nowadays.

Have fun reading!


Chapter 30: Midoriko's Warning

Our wonderful summer seemed to go by faster than we would have wanted. There were a few youkai we went after, but not at the amounts we had known them before. It seemed like they were in a second hibernation, or perhaps they had finally learned the only way to stay alive was to lie low.

And then there was the unspoken fear, which we remembered from before…How when Naraku was hiding in Mt. Hakurei, and how youkai were scarce at that time. I began to suspect that it might be that…that Naraku was planning something, and the youkai knew it.

But I didn't think of this for long. Inuyasha and I enjoyed our beautiful summer together. We were like newlyweds, the only thing in both of our worlds was each other. No matter if we were sneaking off at night or if we were in our friend's company at the village; we never parted. We frequently went back to my time for a few days so I could catch up on the schoolwork I had missed before, and there we could be together like people from my time, go on dates and such without any fear of Naraku coming for us.

But three long, beautiful months doesn't compare to what we could have had in another time…in another place…a lifetime of such carefree happiness, instead of just a little while. Alas, I suppose it is our fate…We dared to go through with our plans, instead of waiting, like we should have, and played into Naraku's hands. I do not know to what full extent he could have used us, but I do know to what little part we played was horrible enough.

Still, like I said, at the time, it was nothing more than both of us enjoying what we had. There would be time later to worry about the consequences of our actions. And we soon had to focus some of our attention to the problem of Naraku. When we got back from visiting Jinenji, a few days late as it was, Miroku-sama and Sango-chan presented us with an idea of how to use the shards in another way to find out the exact specifications of the curse.

It took us a few weeks of trying everything before we came up with an idea—If Miroku-sama took the shards to Midoriko's cave, then perhaps he could speak with her spirit still lingering there. Once body and part of soul connected, then there should be something to give us an idea of what we were up against. It may not have been much, but it was our only lead, and at a time when we had heard nothing for so long, even something so small as that was helpful.


Inuyasha leaned against a tree in the village, looking down at the people below. The breeze ruffled the hanyou's hair as he relaxed. Content at being able to sit and think for a while.

"Inuyasha?" He turned to see his mate walking up the hill next to him. Inuyasha was unable to keep the smile off his face as she came closer, smiling as well. She sat down next to him, leaning slightly against his frame. "What are you doing?"

Glancing back at her, he said, "Just thinking."

"About what?" she giggled; it was odd enough that Inuyasha would sit and think like this anyway.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. "You."

They sat like that for a while, happy to be in each other's arms. Even though the fiery passion they had in their relationship was nice, these soft moments were almost sweeter. It was all they had until they both realized their love for each other, and when they couldn't be completely alone, cuddling was all they needed to remind them of their love.

"Do you think Sango-chan and Miroku-sama will be okay?" Kagome asked hesitantly. "They did go off to the Exterminator's Village by themselves to see if they could learn anything about the Curse."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Inuyasha replied at once, if only to make his mate happy. "They know how to handle things on their own."

Snuggling closer to him, she admitted, "I'm just a bit worried. This curse…it's not like anything we've ever dealt with before…what if something goes wrong?"

Gently stroking her hair as he held her, the hanyou assured her, "Don't worry, Kagome…I hate it when you do. I'd be surprised if anything could kill Sango when she's riled up, and that monk isn't a weakling either."

"Yeah…" She knew her fear was irrational, but she couldn't help it; for a while now she'd been having this eerie feeling that something bad was going to happen soon. Kagome didn't know where this feeling had come from or what it pertained to—or, it was just a figment of her imagination. Either way, she knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Speaking of which… "Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?" Kagome looked back up at him, her eyes now serious.

When she looked away, the hanyou recognized that look. She was nervous. "Do you think when Sango-chan and Miroku-sama get back we should tell them…?"

His eyebrows rose. "About…us?"

Kagome nodded. Though he had been perfectly content with not letting anyone in on their little secret, she had felt guilt for practically lying to their friends. And it didn't help that every time she asked Inuyasha this, he came up with some excuse to keep it to themselves.

This time was no different. "Kagome…you know what they'll say…"

"I know! But Inuyasha, I don't like lying to them about this," she explained, turning away. "It makes me feel like a bad person."

Inuyasha tried to talk her out of this mood, "Kagome…they have no reason to know our business."

"But, Inuyasha…"

"Listen to me, Kagome…the only thing that will happen if we tell them is they'll get mad. And none of us need to be fighting right now. Let's just wait for a while, once the pressure of Naraku is gone, and then we'll let them know, all right?"

She sighed. It would do no good to argue with him. "All right."

While Kagome thought she and Inuyasha were alone, when she leaned back into his arms, another saw it from afar. Shippou, who was hiding behind some bushes, hoping Inuyasha was too preoccupied with Kagome to catch his scent, watched the two, beginning to realize what was going on.

I knew it! he thought. There is something they're hiding from us…As he watched the two cuddle, he wondered, But what could it be?


"After they discovered that a polluted shard might be enough to get Midoriko to give up her secrets, the monk and the exterminator decided to head out for the Exterminator's Village together," Kagome finished, glancing at both of her friends with a smile.

Inuko tugged slightly on his mother's yukata. "What happened next, Mama?"

Sighing, Kagome admitted, "I don't know, Inuko. The monk and the exterminator never quite admitted what happened to them there."

Grinning, Miroku piped up, "I know that part of the story. You see, Inuko, when the Hanyou and Miko stayed behind in the village, the monk and the lovely, beautiful exterminator decided to head out for the Exterminator's Village. However, unlike their hanyou friend, the monk wasn't quite as lucky yet with the beautiful, divine, gift from Heaven—"

Sango smacked her husband. "Oh shut it. Just tell the story and tell it right. And," she glared in a warning, "Remember what I said earlier. Anything not meant for the children is going to get you a lot worse than a beating."

The monk sighed. "If that is what will make you happy, dearest. Like I was saying, once in the village, they had to make sure the shard was tainted enough for necromancy to work…"


All was quiet in the Exterminator's Village as Miroku the monk kneeled with his hands clasped, the Shikon shard on a pedestal before him, the shard beginning to lose its bright pink glow, instead being replaced with a light purple aura.

Kagome had given them the shard in hopes that they could taint it enough that it would be able to gain information about the Curse for them, but it appeared that a shard Kagome had purified was harder to taint then the monk thought. He had been working on it for hours and had just now begun to see it start to change its aura.

The sound of approaching footsteps resonated throughout the empty hut as Sango peeked in, glancing down at Miroku. "How's it coming, Houshi-sama?" she asked.

Opening his eyes, the monk admitted, "It's a lot harder than it looks. I don't think there is much more that I can do." Looking back at the shard emitting a light purple glow, he said, "We might have to live with this instead of what I have hoped."

"I don't quite understand," the exterminator admitted, "How is it that you can taint it like that? I mean, you are a monk, so shouldn't it be purified instead of—"

When Miroku shot her a lecherous grin, she shuddered and turned away. "You're disgusting."

Sango immediately trudged out of the room, but Miroku called for her, "Come back, Sango! It's much easier to think clearly when you are in the room!"

His response was found when a rock was thrown and hit the back of his head fairly hard. "Ow!" he muttered, rubbing the bump that appeared with his free hand.


Later, after Sango had time to cool off, both monk and exterminator walked towards Midoriko's cave, Miroku holding the polluted shard out in front of him. As soon as they met the entrance, the shard hit the barrier, creating a shock to flow through the blue aura.

"It's reacting," Sango said, noticing how the barrier turned the same hue as the shard for a moment. "Houshi-sama, do you think you could break the barrier?"

"Perhaps." He held the shard out to her. "Here, hold it for a minute while I try—"

Sango stepped back so fast she almost tripped over Kirara. "I'm not touching that thing!"

"But, Sango…"

"Do you think I want to touch something filled with your dirty thoughts?" she roared.

The monk was about to reply when all of a sudden, they both noticed something odd about the barrier. When it was blue before, it suddenly began glowing purple. When Miroku raised the shard to it, the barrier fizzled a moment before vanishing completely. Both humans looked in awe for a moment before turning back to each other.

"Do you think it was the affect of the shard?" the exterminator asked, glancing from shard to cave and back again.

Miroku shook his head. "I doubt it. More likely Midoriko is inviting us in…or perhaps the barrier was weakened due to this sort of thing before."

Sango gasped, "Naraku?"

"Yeah, if he knew he had an opportunity like this, he wouldn't let it go to waste." The monk held the shard in front of him again. "And if Naraku knows about this already, then it's best if we know what is in store for us sooner than later!"

Taking a deep breath, they both stepped into the cave, a small sense of fear overpowering both of them…and then there was the slight feeling that whatever they would hear would be too painful for them to know about.

Soon after going into the cave and knowing this feeling, they were met with the familiar sight of Midoriko's mummy, trapped forever within the jaws of the terrible youkai. It could have been Miroku's imagination, but he thought he saw a faint purple glow around the long dead miko.

He glanced back at the shard, but it was not reacting. How then was he supposed to find out what they needed? They certainly couldn't go back empty handed—Inuyasha would never let them hear the end of it.

"Houshi-sama…" Sango had noticed that nothing was happening as well. "Did we do something wrong?"

"I'm not sure, but I think—" He was suddenly cut off as a powerful, yet weary sounding voice filled the cave.

"What are you doing here, mortals?" Both Sango and Miroku jumped when the voice caught them by surprise, and then turned to see the mummy of Midoriko lit up in a vibrant pink light.

Showing the body of Midoriko the tainted shard, the monk began, "We came here only to ask of the Curse of the Shikon no Tama, Midoriko-sama. There is another, more vile being out to use it, and we must prevent him."

After pausing for a moment, Midoriko's voice spoke again, "That hanyou that came here before?"

"Hanyou?" Sango gasped. "Wait…did he have a polluted Shikon no Tama with him?"

Midoriko didn't answer, but it was enough proof for the monk. It had to be Naraku…he's the only one who would think to come here like this...So now he knows what power he is using.

The long dead miko turned her attentions to Miroku. "You, monk…you seek the same thing as that hanyou?" A small, mocking laugh could be heard throughout the cave. "He seemed to know more of what he was doing…rather than trying to use necromancy against me with a barely tainted shard full of thoughts that woman wouldn't like to hear."

While Miroku didn't look back at Sango, he had the distinct feeling that she was probably glaring at him. Resigning himself to being hit later, he gulped and spoke to the spirit of Midoriko again, "I do not wish to force the knowledge out of you, only to beg you that we need to know what this curse is in order to prevent it wreaking havoc on innocent people."

It seemed that Midoriko was contemplating something, as she paused before asking again, "You are not the one that carries the pieces of my soul, are you?"

"No," Miroku replied, "I am merely the one who came here to do this. The pure shards are in the hand of a miko, who has more spiritual power than I have ever seen in a person, especially in a miko who was never trained."

Midoriko gave a little laugh at that. "I doubt that her immense purity powers will remain for long now."

Miroku seemed focused on his goal, but that didn't mean that Sango didn't take that statement as a grave omen. What does she mean that Kagome-chan won't have her power for long? She still has the power of a miko, doesn't she?

"The shard will be purified once it is back in her hands," Miroku promised, "Now, we ask you, can you tell us what this curse really is?"

"I can not tell you," Midoriko replied. Miroku was about to speak and beg to know before the miko spoke, "But I can show you."

"Then show me," he answered, before his mind was assaulted with many horrible images…

The Shikon no Tama, being expelled from Midoriko's body in a flash of pink light, the miko and the youkai going limp with death as their crystallized souls fell to the ground, drenched in the blood of the sacrificial miko…

…"Inuyasha!" Kikyou screamed, letting loose the arrow that pinned Inuyasha to Goshinboku. The instant the hanyou was hit, he cried out in pain before reaching for the Shikon no Tama, but it was too far out of his grasp…The hanyou fell limp as he succumbed to the spell of sleep, while Kikyou bent down on the ground, blood flowing from her shoulder and dripping on the jewel as she picked it up…her eyes wavering as she looked upon the very thing that doomed her to this early death…

…Kohaku ran through the forest, looking back occasionally, knowing he was pursued by his worst nightmare. A shouki-filled tentacle burst out of nowhere, tripping Kohaku and knocking him to the ground. When he got up, he was met with the sight of Naraku standing in front of him, and grinning…Kohaku pulled out his sickle, but knew it was a battle he would never win. A sad grin formed on his face as he threw the chain sickle…the Shikon no tama fell to the ground in almost slow motion as Kohaku screamed, his blood dripping on to the jewel…

…"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping in front of an obviously pregnant Kagome as Naraku's tentacles flew…In an instant, her scream was heard as they pierced the hanyou through, Inuyasha holding no other face but shock…As the tentacles withdrew, he fell back into Kagome's arms, knowing the wound was fatal…His eyes were wavering as life tried to leave him…a shaking hand reached out to touch her face, while her tears fell on his own…And then he fell limp, a peaceful expression on his face, while Kagome cried harder than she ever had in her life…

…Back in the hut in the village, with Kagome lying on a pallet, her face ghostly white…her stomach was no longer round; she had lost the baby…Tears fell down her face, as she closed her eyes, took one last breath as she succumbed to the darkness she had wanted for so long…her hand fell open, and a necklace with a shell on it fell to the ground, broken…

Miroku gasped as he brought himself out of the trance he had been put in. His heart was racing in fear as he stumbled back, Sango running to him. "Houshi-sama! What is it? You look white as a ghost!"

The monk didn't answer as he looked back up at the mummy of Midoriko. "Is that it?" he asked, fearing the worst. "Those things I saw with my friends…is that the Curse of the Shikon no Tama?"

"No." He felt himself sigh in relief before the miko replied, "But those things you saw…they will come to pass if you do not stop the one who controls the curse now. If you can not break the cycle of bloodshed, then not just your friends, but all will come to a bitter end."

The monk nodded before glancing down at the Shikon shard, now having been returned to a slightly pure state, in the palm of his gloved hand. He clenched it into a fist. This curse…no matter what, I cannot allow Naraku to use it to take the lives of all our friends!