A1969: thank you all for the reviews…please, don't hesitate to keep 'em coming.
Miroku: truly, are reviews your only source of joy on this earth?
A1969: nope, anyway, I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters—those who own 'em, own 'em and those who don't, don't.
Sango: she owns the OC's, though…and the plot…I guess…
A1969: and Miroku…I own Miroku…
Sango: nani?!
A1969: just kidding. Sheesh, you're insecure.
Chapter Twelve: Midoriko's Grave
CoCoCoCoCoCo
The next day, after saying goodbye to her mother and promising her that she'd take care, Clara followed Inuyasha and Kagome into the Well Shrine. "It was so good of your mother to let you go back to the Feudal Era," Kagome commented as she slid the door to the Well Shrine open.
"It was unexpected," Clara said. "I mean…I didn't think that she'd actually let me come back. I thought she'd force me to stay in school or worse, send me home."
"Then be thankful that she didn't," Inuyasha muttered as, without waiting for the other two, he jumped into the well and vanished in a flash of blue light.
"He sure was in a hurry," Clara said as she Kagome stared into the well's dark interior.
Kagome sighed and stared into Clara's sapphire-blue eyes. "He's…well, I think he knows that Kikyou knows that you'll be coming so…he thinks that Kikyou will be waiting for you and, naturally, he wants to see her." Clara noted the subtle hint of bitterness in her voice.
She wound an arm around her friend's shoulders. "You truly do love him, don't you?" she asked. "Not that I mean to pry…"
Kagome blushed. "Well…if you put it that way…I…" her voice trailed off and her cheeks were colored with the same red as the sunset over the steppes. "Well…yes…" her voice trailed off and she looked sheepishly at Clara. She decided to change the subject from herself. "What about you? Do you have someone back in America?"
Clara sighed and, not knowing why, a mental image of a silver-haired someone popped, unwanted, into her mind. She shook her head. "No…Mama guarded me like a lioness from all that but…I feel as if there was someone before…someone, perhaps, from another life…" her voice trailed off. For the past few nights, she had been dreaming about a dark-haired man whose back had been turned to her and when she had reached for him, he vanished.
Kagome, whose knee was already on the well, paused and looked thoughtfully at her. "Another life? Clara…as far was we know…your 'other life' was lived as Midoriko…" Her voice trailed off and she looked thoughtfully at her friend. Could it possible that Midoriko…
"Come on, Kagome," Clara said as she leaned against the well. "Let's get going, as we said, it's not good to keep Kikyou waiting."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Kagome and Clara climbed out of the well to find Inuyasha waiting for them. He wasn't the only one. A few paces from the well, Kikyou was standing there. Her soul collectors hovering around her, her loose hair falling like waves past her shoulders. Kagome looked from Inuyasha to Kikyou, wondering if they had talked and wondering what they had talked about it…
"Inuyasha has told me of what happened in the Modern Era," Kikyou said, going directly to Clara and passing Kagome by as if she were a hat stand. Her hazel eyes bore into Clara's sapphire ones. She looked at the Shikon jewel hanging innocently from Clara's neck. "Good…you have protected the jewel…Though Inuyasha tells me that you were close to surrendering it…" she stopped with an almost delicate pause.
"Well, come on, then," Kikyou said as she turned away. "We have much to do."
"Right," Clara said. She turned to Kagome and Inuyasha. "I'll see you two around then!"
Kagome watched as Clara and Kikyou vanished into the forest. "Well?" Kagome asked, turning her attention to Inuyasha. "Aren't you…going to say goodbye to Kikyou?"
Inuyasha looked at her and noticed the subtle trace of bitterness in her voice which, despite the fact that Kagome was virtuous and good, she tried to conceal. "No," Inuyasha said quietly. "I don't need to…"
"I know you want to go to her," Kagome said as they, too, began to take their leave of the clearing. "Go on, Inuyasha, I'll be alright…It's not like I don't know where Kaede's Village is…"
"I told you, I don't wanna go to her!" Inuyasha said, raising his voice just a bit. He didn't like it when Kagome acted like this. It bothered him.
"Just who do you think you're kidding?" Kagome snapped, raising her voice as well. "I know you wanna go to Kikyou! Why don't you just go? Or…maybe you don't wanna go because Clara's there so…you and Kikyou will have no privacy now, won't you?"
Inuyasha spun around. He had never this much spite in Kagome's voice before. He grabbed her shoulders which turned out to be a mistake. He let go of her. "Listen," he said, lowering his head. "Kikyou…doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."
Kagome looked at him for a moment, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Kikyou didn't want him anymore? But then, that meant that Inuyasha only wanted her because Kikyou dumped him. "She doesn't?" Kagome asked.
"No."
"Then neither do I," Kagome said quietly and walked faster, leaving him looking perplexed and—unknown to her—hurt.
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Kagome walked faster, noticing that Inuyasha wasn't following. What she had said was false. She did want him. It was just that, it hurt to know that he wanted to be with her only because Kikyou had dumped him. If he could prove that he loved her truly, then perhaps, there was a chance for them…
"Kagome-chan!" a feminine voice trilled. Kagome smiled as soon as she saw Sango hurrying towards her. "You're back! We thought Sesshoumaru…" her voice trailed off. "We mean, when we heard that he came back and you weren't here yet…" she paused delicately.
"So, you know he came back?" Kagome asked as her friend led her back to Kaede's Village.
Sango nodded. "Yes," she said, remembering the youkai lord as he jumped out of the well. "We were waiting for you, you see, and then all of a sudden, he pops out of the well in the dead of night! He gave us quite a scare."
Kagome nodded, knowing what Sango meant. "Anyway," the young taijiya went on. "Where's Inuyasha?"
Kagome stopped walking and remembered what she had said to Inuyasha earlier. Why did she have to say it? Why did she have to unintentionally hurt him? But the fact that Inuyasha probably only wanted her because Kikyou dumped him, hurt more than anything else. "He's off somewhere, I think," Kagome said quietly, knowing that, for the first time in living memory, she was the one who had actually hurt Inuyasha.
Sango, who remembered that Kikyou had been waiting for Clara, decided not to pry. "Well, come on, then," she said with certain briskness in her voice. "Miroku and the others are waiting."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
What had he done?
Inuyasha pondered on this and he pondered hard. When Kagome had told him that she didn't want him…
It had actually hurt.
Hard.
Why? He pondered as he had watched her go. Had he said something wrong? He had only told her that Kikyou dumped him…
Women were so fickle, he decided grudgingly. He had made up his mind. He wouldn't go to Kaede's village yet, Kagome was still upset and his presence would only add more wood to the fire. He sighed and stared up at the sky just as a bird flew overhead.
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Riyara cursed, mentally of course, for a lady never curses out loud. Her plan had failed. She had failed to take the Shikon Jewel from the girl; she couldn't resurrect her father and her brother, then. She sighed and stared out of the window of the abandoned palace where she was staying and which, thanks to the fact that it was hidden behind a few good hills, would surely keep away unwanted beings.
There was only one unwanted being who plagued her.
Sesshoumaru.
That cold-hearted, aristocratic bastard had chased after her last night, after Midoriko had nearly killed her. She shuddered as she thought about last night's events. She had been so close to taking the jewel, and then Sesshoumaru and his half-breed brother had stormed in. A chill crept up her spine as she remembered the arrow that Midoriko had launched at her. It had been a powerful one and she had actually feared for her life then. She had had no choice but to let go of the other miko, Kagome, and flee—only to be pursued into the Feudal Era by the persistent Sesshoumaru.
Somehow, by some miracle, she had managed to escape his clutches and fled. She sighed. She quietly made her way out of the room she had been resting in walked down the long, narrow corridor of the palace. The corridors were dimly lit with braziers which illuminated her way. She entered another room. The only light in the room came from two, gelatinous orbs of violet. She looked into the orbs.
Her father's body was encased in this orb. And in the other…her brother, Menomaru…
She had brought them back, brought their bodies back from the grave. It had been difficult and she had almost certainly lost her own life, but she had succeeded and now…
She had been thwarted. She did not possess the Shikon Jewel. When she had brought back their lifeless bodies with her sorcery, she had been shocked to learn that they were lifeless. She had had two options then—use, but before that find out how to steal, the Tenseiga, that life-giving blade which, most unfortunately, belonged to Sesshoumaru or hunt down the Shikon jewel. Deciding that the latter was the safer route, she had decided to find Sacred Jewel shards but, unfortunately for her, all the shards, except for three ones (which were with Kohaku and Kouga, both of whom she knew nothing about), were gone.
She had learned from her sources that only two people held the halves of the Shikon no Tama. An elusive and deadly demon whose name she had not yet learned and a powerful, yet untrained priestess said to be Midoriko's reincarnation. Deciding that elusive and deadly were hard, she had decided to go for the powerful yet untrained Midoriko.
She looked at the body of her father. Her brother, Menomaru, greatly resembled him but, unlike Menomaru, their father had blue hair instead of green. "Father," she whispered as she placed a hand on the orb. "I will find a way to bring you back from the dead…you and my brother…and then, we shall have our revenge on the Taisho Clan, we destroy the two sons of the Dog General—Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru."
"I can help you with that," a soft voice said quietly.
Riyara spun around. She had not heard—or even sensed—the stranger approaching. There was a man behind her. His dark flowed past his back in rough waves and dark, red eyes seemed to contrast with his pale skin.
"Who are you?!" the demoness demanded, drawing out her dagger.
The man smirked. "Oh? Is a dagger truly necessary? Have I not said that I can help you?" he said, his eyes looked the two orbs behind Riyara, and then his gaze flicked back to hers. "I happen to know of your little dilemma."
Riyara glared with apprehension at him. "Oh? And what help could you possibly give me?" she asked with contempt clearly written in her voice.
The man's smile widened. He drew, from the sleeves of his haori, a half jewel, glittering innocently in the light of the two orbs. Riyara's eyes widened. "Is that…the Sacred Jewel?" she asked, looking at the unknown demon. This was him, then, the elusive and deadly demon rumored to possess the other half of the Shikon no Tama…
The man smiled. "Yes."
Riyara reached for it but before her slender fingers could close in on the sought-after jewel, the man pulled it away. "You didn't think I'd give to you without an exchange?" he asked silkily.
Riyara glared at him. "Oh? An exchange? You wish for an exchange? How do I even know that truly is the Sacred Jewel?"
The man smirked and moved towards the orb that contained her brother's body. He held out the jewel so that it nearly touched the orb and, much to Riyara's amazement, her brother's fingers twitched…
She stared at the man. Normally, her pride as a daiyoukai would prevent her from making such an exchange but in this case…
"What do you want?" she finally asked as the man returned the jewel to dark and safe folds of his sleeves.
"I want your services…Perhaps not now, but in the future, maybe," he said.
"You want me to wait?" Riyara snapped; her eyes narrowed into little slits.
"Yes."
Riyara considered him for a moment. Should she trust him? Why not just kill the bastard and then take the jewel from him?
"I wouldn't even think it, Riyara," he said softly.
Riyara glanced sharply at him. Could he read her mind? She was—though she wouldn't admit it—impressed. "What is your name?" she asked.
"Naraku."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Sesshoumaru flew through the clouds, frowning. When he was alone, there was a much better chance of his showing any kind of facial expression. Riyara had gotten away again. The girl, Clara, hadn't been capable of killing her, but then, he was glad that she hadn't killed her. He wanted the pleasure of eliminating Riyara himself.
The clouds seemed to thicken, hampering his vision. But he was used to it. After all, how many times had he visited his dear hahaue?
The clouds gradually thinned out to reveal a splendid palace floating serenely amidst clouds. As he slowly descended, he could make out Rin running around the courtyard, chasing Jaken. A few paces away from them, stood his mother, Hayomi. It could easily have been said that the demoness had bequeathed her feminine features to her only son. True, Sesshoumaru had inherited his mother's good looks and his father's masculinity, the latter insuring that he didn't entirely look like a woman.
"Ah, you've finally come to pick up your packages, haven't you?" she asked as soon as she saw her son alight gracefully on the courtyard.
Sesshoumaru bowed subtly to his mother. She was the reason why he was cold as it was. "Really, Sesshoumaru," Hayomi said as Rin, upon seeing her adopted father, ran to the daiyoukai with unfeigned happiness in her eyes. "When will you stop leaving her here with me? I am not a baby sitter."
"It was necessary," he said, allowing respect to lace his voice. "Hahaue," he added.
"What kind of danger have you been chasing after?" she asked. Though she did quite well in hiding it, she was always concerned about her only son's well-being.
"A woman," he said quietly as his mother led him into the palace. The guards bowed low as they passed. "By the name of Riyara."
His mother, as if she had bumped into a wall, stopped dead in her tracks. She spun around to face her son, bewilderment, astonishment, disbelief and relief in her eyes. "A woman? You've been chasing after a woman, my son? Is that why you have left your charges with me? Have you finally found yourself a wife?" She sounded hopeful.
Sesshoumaru inwardly sighed. His mother had a record of failed attempts to marry off her attractive son in the hopes of an heir for the Western Lands and, though she tried to hide it, she longed for a grandchild.
"No," the daiyoukai said. "I was going to kill her. She is the last heir to the Hyouga clan…And I intend to obliterate that family off the face of this earth."
His mother looked disappointed. "When will you give me a grandson?" she asked. "And an heir to the lands?" Hayomi looked at him. She was still quite young to be a grandmother and Sesshoumaru certainly had no intention of falling in love which was quite useless and unnecessary.
"I have no intention of marrying," he said. "It is useless."
Hayomi sighed. "Ah, well," she said. "I can always try to marry you off, somehow. Besides, there are plenty of eligible young women who…" Her voice trailed off and Sesshoumaru saw the familiar twinkle in her eyes that meant that she was going to add another failed attempt to her record of trying to marry off her son.
Sesshoumaru inwardly frowned as they stepped onto the veranda. If there was one thing he hated about himself, it was his looks. Those accursed looks that managed to get all those demonesses fawning over him. He was disgusted with himself for this. His goal lay in power and conquest and how on earth would he manage that with all those women chasing after him?
He and his mother were silent for a moment. She suddenly turned to him with a serious look in her eyes. "You were chasing after the last member of the Hyouga family?" she asked, sounding worried. "Be careful."
"I needn't be," he said lazily, gazing at his mother's manicured gardens and the ponds which she so prized. "That woman is weak…she is like a snake, however. She manages to escape. She has even evaded an arrow from Midoriko's reincarnation."
His mother raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows at him. "Midoriko's reincarnation?" she asked. "You mean that horrid priestess has been reincarnated?" She shuddered.
"Her reincarnation is naïve and weak," Sesshoumaru said with disdain.
His mother raised her eyebrows at him. "You have met her reincarnation?"
"Yes…and she is weak," he said.
His mother looked thoughtful. "Hahaue," Sesshoumaru went on. "I must take my leave and continue my search for Naraku."
Hayomi nodded and watched her son as he left.
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Kikyou stared into the dark depths of the cave in front of her. The barrier at the cave's mouth pulsed with strong spiritual power and she narrowed her eyes. She had left Clara with Asuka with the sternest orders that she meditate while she was gone.
Kikyou approached the cave. The semi-transparent blue barrier pulsed as if it didn't want her to go near. "Do you think that it is time for her to retrieve it, Lady Kikyou?" Kochou asked her mistress.
The undead miko frowned. "Perhaps…though, she does not sense it, Clara's powers are growing stronger each day," she said. "If she were to retrieve the sword now…" her voice trailed off and she stared at the darkness within the cave. "Perhaps she is or is not yet ready," she murmured. She turned to leave. "We will see."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Night slowly descended on Feudal Japan and Kagome worried for Inuyasha. Throughout the day, Inuyasha hadn't arrived. She stood outside of Kaede's hut, nervously twiddling her fingers. "Where are you, Inuyasha?" she asked worriedly, knowing that she was the one who was responsible for the hurt look in the hanyou's eyes.
"Kagome, aren't you coming inside?" Sango asked, as she joined her friend. "Kaede-obachan's made a very delicious kind of miso soup which she flavored with herbs and…" she broke off. "You are sad?"
Kagome sighed. "Well…Inuyasha's not back yet…"
"You don't have to worry about him!" Sango said. "He's more than capable of taking care of himself."
Kagome sighed. "I know…it's just that…I said something to him…" her voice trailed off and a guilty look came into her eyes.
"What did you say?" Sango asked. "Come on…it couldn't have been that bad. You know how Inuyasha is…he doesn't listen to anything anyone says…"
Kagome bit her lip, still worrying. "Why don't you tell me what you told him?" Sango asked.
Kagome sighed and knew she could confide in Sango. "Well…When we returned from my time, Kikyou was waiting for Clara," she said. "And…well…Inuyasha had jumped ahead and I wondered what they had been talking about. Then, after Kikyou and Clara left, Inuyasha told me that Kikyou didn't want to see him anymore…"
"So?"
"So…well, it came into my mind that Inuyasha only wanted to be with me because Kikyou no longer wanted him and…that hurt…so…I told him that…I didn't want him too…" Kagome looked at Sango with an almost desperate look in her eyes.
Sango regarded her for a moment. The young taijiya looked up at the stars for a moment before looking at Kagome again. "Do you want him?" she asked finally.
Kagome blushed then looked at the ground. "Well…yes…But…Oh, Sango! I was so stupid for saying something like that to him! I shouldn't have…"
Sango placed an arm around Kagome's shoulders. "It's alright…he'll be back soon enough, you'll see. Now, come on and have some dinner."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
Clara stared up at the dark sky and sighed. Where was Kikyou? "Hey, Asuka," she said, turning her attention to the Shikigami. "Where do you think Kikyou is?"
Asuka only looked at her and didn't bother to answer. She looked up at the sky and narrowed her eyes. "Mistress Kikyou summons me," she said quietly. "Stay here, Midoriko." With that, the shikigami flew off, leaving Clara alone in the clearing.
"Hey!" she shouted. "Don't leave me here!"
Too late, Asuka had gone. Clara sighed and stared up at the sky. "Gee," she said quietly. "Thanks a lot, Asuka."
She sighed and sat down against the tree and closed her eyes. No sooner had she done so when she felt the ground beneath her shudder. Her eyes snapped open. She felt a strong demonic aura headed her way. She stood up just as a gigantic mantis demon burst from the ground, showering Clara with rubble and debris.
"Finally!" it said with triumph. "I've finally found a shard of the Shikon no Tama!"
Clara's hand automatically went to the jewel around her neck. "You're not getting it!" she snarled as she bent and picked up the bow and the quiver that Kikyou had left behind.
"We'll see, little Midoriko!" The mantis lunged towards her and Clara rolled over to one side to avoid it. She notched an arrow to her bow and released the string. The arrow lit up with a whitish-pink light and narrowly missed the demon by inches. The spiritual energy had managed to scald the demon, however.
"Can't hit, miko?" the mantis said mockingly. It suddenly spat a miasma from its mouth, not as potent as Naraku's but it could scald humans. Clara jumped back just as the miasma splashed at her feet. She notched another arrow to her bow but before she could even release the string, the demon slashed at her forearm with one of its long, sharp forelegs. She gave a little scream as soon as she felt the gash at her arm emitting blood.
She staggered backward, clutching her arm in pain. "Hand over, the jewel, girl!" the mantis snarled.
Clara watched as it raised one of its spiny forelegs, watched as it brought it down on her with a force that would kill her. She closed her eyes and prayed that it wouldn't be painful…
She suddenly heard the sound of a blade as it slashed through air. The sound of the blade as well as the absence of the pain, made Clara look up. A man was lowering his sword, soaked with the blood of the mantis that was lying dead at his feet.
He looked up at her and Clara saw his face in the moonlight. "T-takeshi?" she said with slight uncertainty.
Takeshi looked into her sapphire eyes and hurried over to her. He knelt down in front of her. "You are injured," he said softly, looking into her eyes. Clara saw the worried look that he gave her and suddenly, he was no longer a stranger who had led her into the Feudal Era, he had become her savior.
"Th-thank you for saving me," she said.
He smiled at her. "Hush, Midoriko," he said. She noticed that, ever since they had met, he had never called her by her own name. She decided not to be bothered by this.
"It's nothing," Clara said, ignoring the throbbing pain in her arm.
He gently rolled up the sleeve of her haori, exposing the gash on her forearm. Clara shuddered as he gently placed his palm on her wound. He closed his eyes and Clara couldn't help noticing how—she blushed—handsome he looked. A soft golden glow emanated from beneath his palm. An itching sensation suddenly came from the wound and Clara longed to pull away from him. She resisted and a moment later, he opened his eyes and smiled at her. The wound on her forearm was gone.
"Hey…it's healed," she said. She looked at him. "You're not like other demons," she said quietly. "Who are you, really? Why are you helping me?"
His smile faltered for a bit. He gently placed a finger on her lips. "You'll find out soon enough, Midoriko," he said quietly, his eyes boring into her own. "But for now…"
He didn't finish his sentence. He glanced behind him and narrowed his eyes. "I must go," he said. He stood up. "I shall see you again, Midoriko." With that, he slowly faded until he vanished into nothing.
Clara stood up and staggered slightly. "Who are you?" she asked no one in particular. "Why do you always have to vanish on me?"
A moment later, Kikyou appeared, her Shikigami following close behind her. "Clara," she said. Her gaze strayed to the mantis and the blood on her haori. "Did you defeat the demon on your own?"
Clara, who somehow felt that Takeshi's visit should be private, nodded. Kikyou gave her a very small smile, hardly a smile at all, but it was a start. She turned to her Shikigami. "Asuka, go to Kaede's village and bring Clara another haori." She turned to Clara. "Are you injured?"
"No," Clara said, which was quite true. "The blood's from the mantis," that was a lie.
Kikyou nodded. "When Asuka brings you another haori, go to sleep. There is somewhere we have to go tomorrow morning."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
The next morning, after she had changed into a fresh haori, Kikyou and Clara set out to a destination only the former knew. "Where are we going, anyway?" Clara inquired as they trudged up a mountain. She leaned against a tree and sighed. "Can't we rest? We've been traveling since dawn and it's nearly noon."
Kikyou stopped in her tracks. "You will know when we get there," Kikyou said impassively. "Now, come, we are nearly there."
"Nearly where?" Clara muttered. She groaned as her stomach gave a protesting growl, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything since last night.
Kikyou glanced back at her and gave her a look that shut her mouth for the rest of the journey. It was a little around noon when they finally approached their destination. It was a cave.
It was no ordinary cave. Clara could sense a strong spiritual barrier at the entrance that seemed so familiar…
"Where are we?" Clara asked. "What's in this cave?"
Kikyou looked at her; there was a funny look in her eyes. "This…is Midoriko's grave."
CoCoCoCoCoCo
A1969: that's it for now.
Sango: review please! Reviews are very important to the author, you see.
Miroku: yeah, they are inspiration.
A1969: reviewing won't cost you anything, you know. Except, perhaps, a few seconds…