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Puzzle Pieces
At the end of the first three miles the crow also bade her farewell, and this was the saddest parting of all; he flew into a tree, and flapped his black wings as long as he could see the carriage, which shone like bright sunshine.
It didn't take long for Princess Sango to find a clue about Inuyasha's situation—eight days, give or take.
Kagome was watching as Shippo and Shiori played in the garden when Miroku showed up on the porch, saying the princess needed to speak to her.
"Is it about Inuyasha?" She asked anxiously as the monk helped her stand. Sango never summoned her while she was working, so Kagome knew it had to be something important.
"I believe so," Miroku confirmed. "Prince Kohaku has returned from his huntings, and apparently he's seen something… interesting."
Kagome's stomach turned at the monk's words. If the prince were surprised by something he'd seen, and if it involved Inuyasha… She was scared.
"I take it she has a few questions for you," Miroku said, squeezing her hand a little. "There's no need to make such a face, Kagome. I'm sure all will be well."
She swallowed hard.
Sango was kneeling on a mat in the middle of her huge room, surrounded by parchments and maps. A boy who looked no more than thirteen was beside her, wearing the strangest black armor Kagome had ever seen. He was pointing at something in a map as he caressed a small two-tailed cat on his lap.
As soon as the door closed, they lifted their heads to look at Kagome. The prince immediately stood to greet her.
"Are you Kagome?" He asked as she bowed.
"Y-Yes," she stuttered. "You must be Prince Kohaku. It's an honor to meet you."
The boy blushed profusely, showing his true age for a moment. If he hadn't been royalty, Kagome would've giggled.
Sango did.
Kohaku shot the princess a glare before returning his attention to Kagome. "After my sister sent word about your quest, I recalled seeing a man like the one you're looking for—but I don't know if you'll believe me."
Kagome suspected she knew what he was talking about. Her hands were sweating, and she tried in vain to dry them on the yellow silk of her kimono. The distraught girl could feel the princess's eyes upon her.
"Did your friend go away with a huge white dog?"
The world came to a stop at Kohaku's quiet words. The demon cat looked at her with its red eyes, and Kagome could've sworn she saw pity in them.
No, no, no, no.
Kagome had been in denial. She'd been fooling herself, making believe that Inuyasha had not left with the beast, that the two events hadn't been necessarily connected. She hadn't seen the proof that they had, after all; and if she'd stopped to think about what she'd be up against… It would have made her quest that much more difficult.
Kagome took a deep breath to steady herself. Before she could think of something to say, though, the princess motioned for her to sit down.
"I need you to be honest with me, Kagome," Sango said with a slight frown. "I can't help you if you keep things from me—no matter how crazy you think they might be."
"We're used to crazy," Kohaku added, taking back his place beside his sister. "You can trust us."
Kagome eyed the boy's armor again, seeing for herself the evidence of his words. Realizing where she was gazing at, Kohaku looked briefly at Sango, as if seeking her approval.
"Our family has been slaying demons for generations," he explained. "That's why they made us rulers to begin with, way in the past."
"Oh," Kagome didn't know what else to say.
"I take care of the politics, and Kohaku keeps our lands free of dangerous demons," Sango added.
"Only because you're a much better ruler," the prince said, his eyes shining with open admiration for his older sister. "You fight better than I do, too."
Sango offered him a small smirk. Kagome was surprised by this bit of information.
"Well," the Princess resumed, "By seeing your reaction, I already know my brother's guessing was right—there's a dog demon involved in your story."
Kagome nodded hesitantly. "I didn't mean to keep anything from you, but I—I just didn't want to believe it myself, I guess."
"I can imagine…"
After such a reality check, Kagome told them everything about the day of the blizzard, the day her best friend had vanished. When she was finished, Kohaku cleared his throat.
"My party and I saw them flying to the West during winter," he said cautiously. "He—he didn't seem to be going anywhere against his will. He was just sitting on the dog's back when they flew above the trees."
Kagome gulped. "He'd been acting strange before he disappeared. I said this to your sister. Maybe he was under a spell or something?"
"And this is what we need to find out next," Sango said. "I'm already looking into tricks that can be used to manipulate demons—Inuyasha is half, after all. Lucky for us, there isn't much that can be done, really… Most people, like our family, just use brute strength against them."
"And we already know force had nothing to do with it," Kohaku murmured.
"I will prepare a list of what could've been done to your friend, and we'll go over it together," the Princess assured her. "In the meantime, rest and regain your strength."
It took Sango five more days to gather the results of her research.
She'd passed most of that time in her private quarters, but sometimes she'd take a stroll in the garden with Kagome and the children. It was during those moments that the peasant girl got to see how young the princess really was—much too young for all the responsibility resting on her shoulders.
No one in the castle spoke about the whole suitor fiasco that had happened a while back, but Kagome knew they were expecting something of Sango—something she wasn't ready to give. She understood what the princess's plan had been: she'd wanted to scare all possible good suitors away with her declaration that she'd only see those who could stay quiet and listen to a woman talking.
"What possible strong warrior would just go along with that, in a world like ours?" Sango had told her once, laughing. "Only the foolish ones with an attitude showed up, and no one is making me marry those."
Her scheme backfired, though, Kagome mused, observing with no small amount of wonder the looks that the handsome monk sent Sango's way—and vice versa.
It's just the way of life that the only one she's interested in is the one who didn't come for her hand at all…
One night after dinner, when both girls had been alone, Kagome boldly asked Sango why wouldn't she marry Miroku.
"I can tell he likes you," she said reasonably. "He wouldn't have to leave, and you wouldn't have to marry a fool. Everybody wins!"
"I-It's not that simple," Sango stuttered. "People expect me to marry someone powerful, and—and besides, he never asked..."
"Probably because he thinks you'll reject him."
"Maybe I would," the princess sighed. "He's too… too distracting, Kagome! It would be a liability, having a husband like that. I wouldn't want people to think I've become a fool, or that a man is controlling me—not after everything I've done to keep my family's legacy alive."
"You think love will distract you?" Kagome asked incredulously. "You think loving him will somehow make your task harder?"
"Don't you think the same about Inuyasha?"
That had been the end of their conversation. Kagome was still avoiding her feelings, after all, and focusing on her quest alone. Observing Sango do something similar only made her think that she truly did love Inuyasha in more ways than one…
Now sitting with the princess and going over the list as she described Inuyasha's behavior, this was all she could think about.
"You said his eyes would turn red sometimes," Sango mused. "Not many things can change a demon's appearance like that. The techniques I found are used to hypnotize them, to make it easier to manipulate them—not awaken their demon blood!"
"It's like he came back from that clearing possessed or something…" Kagome groaned.
Sango's head snapped up at that.
"Possessed… Changing appearance… Acting cold…"
"What is it, Princess?"
"Kagome…" she hesitated. "Have you ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?"
Kagome gulped at that. She'd grown up listening to the story, and she'd heard it again from Shippo during their traveling. After the fox demon supplied the details she hadn't known about the legend, there had been a brief moment in which Kagome wondered if it were possible Inuyasha had a jewel shard.
"He would've told me," she murmured. "He tells me everything."
"I'm sorry, Kagome," Sango exhaled, "but I don't see how it could be anything else. Although the jewel is just a legend amongst us humans, I know for a fact—and apparently you do too—that demons still fight over the remaining shards."
"I-I know, but… but he wouldn't have kept it from me. Never!"
"You said there was a fight in a clearing, that he came home acting strange after that. He could have gotten the shard there," Sango insisted. "He told you there was a swarm of demons attacking!"
Kagome took a deep breath, trying to control her tears. The princess was being reasonable, but to admit that Inuyasha would keep secrets from her was like getting a step farther from him instead of closer.
"I-Is it possible for someone else to put a shard on you?" She asked, hoping Sango's answer would be different from Shippo's. "Is it p-possible that you wouldn't know?"
The princess seemed to consider her words carefully. "The shards are small, so if someone got close enough…" she paused, "during a fight, for instance…"
Kagome nodded eagerly. Although she didn't like the idea of Inuyasha having a shard, knowing what made him act strange was essential if she wanted to undo it.
"I don't think a demon would give up their shard, but…" the princess frowned. "I guess it could have been an accident, the result of a badly calculated move."
There was a brief silence after that.
"Well, we may never know," Sango sighed. "But from everything you told me of his behavior, I think it's safe to say your friend has a shard of the Shikon no Tama. My father fought many demons who had those in his time; I recognize the signs."
"There's something I don't get about the jewel..." Kagome hesitated, knowing that what she was about to say could be considered incredibly naive. "If it were formed from the souls of demons and a powerful priestess, shouldn't it be good and bad? Why do people turn so cold and… and mean when they have it?"
Sango frowned. "I don't think there's an answer to that, Kagome. They always did." She shrugged. "Maybe… maybe the priestess is unhappy. Lonely. Angry. I know I would be."
Kagome couldn't argue with that.
"White dog demons are very rare," Kohaku said. "As far as I know, there's only that one left—and it was heading West." He traced an invisible line with his finger on the map in front of him.
Kagome nodded, clinging to his words like a lifeline. After she had talked to Sango about the jewel, the next step was talking to her brother about the route he'd been taking when he saw Inuyasha.
"You'll have to take Kirara with you," Kohaku mumbled, patting the fire-cat's head lovingly as she rested on his shoulder. "She can fly when she transforms, and she'll protect you too."
"B-But… won't you miss her?" Kagome asked, noticing the sadness in the boy's eyes.
"She knows her way back home," he grinned. "I'm not giving her up… it's a temporary thing."
Humbled by his offer, the girl could only thank him.
"I wish you'd stay longer... we could try to find out where the dog demon is—but I know you're in a hurry," the prince said fast. "And if I didn't find the place in any of my travels, another month researching won't matter, really…"
"Just knowing I have to head West is enough," Kagome smiled. "I didn't even have a direction before. Thank you—again."
Kohaku blushed, averting his eyes.
Princess Sango didn't like the idea of Kagome and Kirara going alone in search of a dog demon, but she also knew that was the best plan at the moment, considering the girl wanted to leave as soon as possible. White dog demons were easily recognizable, so the princess knew this one must have been hiding for years; there was a chance Kagome wouldn't even find it, let alone confront it. The girl would end up having to ask for someone else's help when she got to the West.
"You have to be discreet," Sango instructed. "Think about who you'll ask, observe the way they live. Dog demons inspire loyalty wherever they are—people may not take kindly to your searching."
Kagome nodded.
"Though I suspect this one is pretty reclusive," the princess sighed. "I wish I could go with you."
Kagome took Sango's hands in hers. "You have a duty here. Your people can't have their ruler away indefinitely!"
"Well, in that case, Kohaku—"
"Is your Prince, your General, your best defense against attackers," Kagome counted with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong; the last thing I want is to be alone, but… but Kirara is strong—you both seem to trust her, that is."
Her green kimono was returned to her, this time with a silken red obi to go with it. Kagome felt humbled by the gift, knowing it didn't match her simple garb at all. Sango had wanted her to take the yellow silken one she'd been wearing, but Kagome didn't think it was suited for long travels.
When the princess took her to her quarters and told the girl to choose whatever she wanted to take, Kagome picked a red scarf to put around her neck.
"Only you, Kagome," Sango said affectionately, "would have picked such a simple thing."
The girl blushed. "I had to give up mine along the way," she explained. "It's silly, but I really wanted Inuyasha to see me wearing it—I think he would like it."
Sango gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand.
They hadn't told Shippo he wouldn't be going with her yet. Kagome knew the kit would be inconsolable, so she waited until the night before her departure to talk to him alone in their room.
"You can't come, Shippo," she said, looking deeply into his wide green eyes. "It's dangerous. I know you're tough, but you're really just a kid. You'll be safe here!" Kagome said all at once, hoping he would get her point.
"B-But we're partners!" He protested. "I can take care of myself and you—you know I can!" He puffed out his chest in a show of bravado, but his eyes were filled with tears.
Kagome felt her own eyes stinging. "I know you can, but should you?" She shook her head. "You deserve a home, Shippo. I can tell you like Princess Sango and Shiori, and they can give you that. You'll never want for anything in your life! You'll live here—in a castle!"
"I don't want a castle," he spat. "It doesn't hold a candle to traveling with you!"
Kagome hugged him tightly. "I want you to have a chance at being a child, Shippo. What kind of person would I be if I let you come with me? Besides," she smiled into his orange hair, "this isn't goodbye; not really. Do you think I could stand to never see you again?"
"But you still won't let me come," he mumbled against her neck, and she felt his hot tears on her skin. "You won't change your mind?"
"No," she whispered. "I want what's best for you, Shippo."
The kit disentangled himself from her with an angry glare. Wiping his tears, he turned to the door and left. Deciding he probably needed some space, Kagome let him be.
She cried until she fell asleep.
"Promise me you'll return," Sango said as she embraced Kagome.
Kagome held her tighter before letting go. "Of course I will."
They were at the castle gates; Kirara was transformed and loaded with two sacks of food. Kagome's yellow satchel was filled to the point of bursting open—four mantles, an extra pair of shoes, daggers and other small things rested in it.
"Do you have the map with you?" Kohaku asked for the thousandth time.
"Yes, Prince Kohaku," Kagome smiled, patting her red obi for emphasis.
"I guess that's it, then," Sango said, her eyes moist.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Princess. I could never repay you," Kagome said, squeezing her hand. "And do something about that monk," she whispered with a wink, making Sango blush.
Miroku came forward and bowed his head. "Be safe, my friend. I wish you the best of luck." Myoga and Shoga, both perched on his shoulders, smiled at her and said goodbye. Shoga wiped her eyes with a little handkerchief.
"Thank you both for your help," Kagome nodded at the pair. "I would never have made it here without you."
The girl looked up at the castle walls wistfully. Even Shiori came to say goodbye, she mused, but not Shippo. She had looked for him everywhere. The guards said he hadn't left the castle, which put an end to her worries—but not her sadness.
Sighing, Kagome sent her friends one last grateful look before mounting on Kirara. The nekomata turned her head slightly, as if waiting for Kagome's signal to leave. When the girl grasped her yellow fur in tight fists, she took flight. Kagome looked back only once to see the group of people waving at her, becoming smaller and smaller as the trees passed by.
When they were almost on the road, she heard someone calling her name.
Turning her head, Kagome saw Shippo running after them on all fours, his orange ponytail flipping on the wind.
"I'M SORRY, KAGOME!" He yelled.
She was about to ask Kirara to stop, but Shippo took a turn and climbed a tall, naked tree. Perched on the highest limb, he waved at Kagome.
"COME BACK WITH INUYASHA!"
She couldn't be sure from that distance, but she thought he was crying. Feeling her heart burst with love for her little friend, she turned more in his direction to wave back.
"I WILL!"
Kagome watched him until her neck was hurting, until he became no more than an orange point blurred by her tears.
The sun was already setting when Kagome and Kirara made it into the woods Prince Kohaku had mentioned.
Stick to the road, he'd instructed. People get lost in there sometimes.
Kagome tightened her hold on Kirara's fur, missing the distraction of Shippo's talking more than ever. Sensing her distress, the cat demon made to stop, but Kagome patted her neck reassuringly, saying without words they should keep going.
I spent sixteen days at the castle, she mused. I must make up for lost time…
'Lost' wasn't the right way to put it, though. Kagome knew she had been injured and weak when she broke into Princess Sango's home, and she would have been even worse by now if she'd kept traveling. Most importantly, she finally knew where she was going and what she would probably be facing there—all thanks to Sango and Kohaku.
Kirara's low growl snapped her out of her thoughts.
Kagome had a second to take in the sight of the two figures standing on the road before all hell broke loose.
An old woman came forward and put her scythe to the cat demon's throat. Kirara quickly backed away, closely followed by the swinging weapon. Something collided with Kagome's left shoulder, pushing her back against a tree bark.
Groaning from pain, Kagome looked around to assess her situation. She was pinned to the tree by an arrow on her shoulder, standing on her tiptoes on its roots. Kirara was right in front of her, blocking the old woman's scythe with her snapping jaw, her tails brushing on Kagome's knees as they moved.
A little further ahead, a black-haired girl stood with her bow lifted. Their eyes met, brown on brown, and Kagome thought she might be looking in a mirror.
"H-Hey, you!" Kagome called, her breathing ragged. "Can you please take this arrow out?"
In the back of her mind, Kagome knew her request was naive at best, but the pain was too much for her to ponder on it. "I'll g-give you anything," she rasped.
The girl stepped forward, sparing the two combatants a glance before returning her attention to Kagome. "I won't kill you as long as you don't vex me," she warned with a serious expression, her gaze hardening.
Kagome quickly took in her loose black hair, her ragged brown kimono, the arrows at her back.
You look a lot like the Robber Girl, Sango had said.
Oh, God.
Setsumi stood in front of Inuyasha's bedroom door.
Aside from the beating of his heart and his breathing, there wasn't a sound coming from inside. He missed supper that night, and the servants told her they hadn't seen him all day. She knew Inuyasha was not an indoors person by any stretch of the imagination; the very idea that he could sit in his room for an entire day was ludicrous to her.
Then again, she mused, the idea that he could sit at all used to be ludicrous to me.
Knowing the boy was awake, Setsumi lifted her hand to tap lightly on his door, but stopped mid-motion when he spoke.
"I know you're there," his voice came through low and rasped. "Come in already."
Setsumi slid the door open.
The room was dark, but she never needed the light to see anything. Inuyasha was crouching near his futon, his head bowed, holding a small mirror in one of his clawed hands.
"You missed dinner," she remarked.
Slowly, Inuyasha stood and turned to face her. Setsumi had already known what she would see once he did.
Jagged purple stripes marked his cheeks; his fangs were bigger, but not as big as she knew they could get. His eyelines were black, making him look older than he really was. She'd seen him change briefly from time to time, but it was never like this. When Inuyasha's demon blood took over before, his eyes were always red, his pupils were blue, and it never lasted an entire day—like she knew this had.
"It's not going away this time," he said in that rough voice, as if reading her mind. His eyebrows furrowed.
This was what Setsumi had imagined would happen since she realized something was wrong with him, back when she'd asked him to come to the floating castle with her. Inuyasha was a demon now; like her late husband, like herself—like Sesshomaru, their prodigal (and most likely dead) son.
"Finally," she said with a tight smile.
It was unquestionable that Inuyasha had a shard of the Shikon no Tama now.
A/N: So, I finally gave birth to this chapter lol.
I'm glad Kikyo entered the story at last, because writing her as the Robber Girl was what I wanted since I began it!
It's been easier to update Spirited Away (since it's in bits and all), but after writing Adult Supervision (phew!), I was ready to come back to Frozen Heart. That being said, I could really use some incentive right now… if it isn't a bother! :3
As always, thank you for reading.
