Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author's Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Miko and the Shikon
Kaede woke in the middle of the night, her throat dry from sleeping with her mouth opened, leaving her in desperate need of water. Sitting up in her bed she blinked sleepily, her eyes not quite ready to open but moving without a choice. Leisurely she pulled the covers away from her, shoving them down as she brought her feet out from under them, sliding those feet to the side of the bed before touching them down on hard wood floors, floors that creaked and moaned.
With a deep yawn she padded her way across her room, reaching the door with no memory of her walk to get there, her mind still half slumbering, dazed. Carefully she opened the door, her muscles using a memory of their own so she could complete the action. The door complied with a loud squeak that startled her, waking her just ever so slightly more. She blinked confused, moving some of the sleepiness away from her eyes before she stretched one arm above her head, the other keeping the door ajar.
"I'm so sleepy." She mumbled to herself as she brought her hand up to her mouth catching another yawn just as she had been taught to do by her older sister. "Excuse me." Her childish voice echoed into the darkened hall as she brought her whole arm up, using it to rub her sleep mused eyes. "Sleepy—," She mumbled longing to go back to bed, but her dry throat was of even greater need than sleep. "Thirsty."
With a slight sniff of indignation she began to walk, her little body not weighing enough to make the sturdier hallway floorboards creak as she treaded towards the kitchen. Noiselessly, she weaved down the hallway, moving back and forth, uncoordinated and tired, her body heavy as she stepped on the cold wooden floors. "Water." She mumbled as she tested her dry mouth out with a slight smacking noise as she brought her lips together and apart.
She turned into the main tavern as she did, going towards the kitchen, walking passed her sister's door, a door that still had light penetrating from underneath it. Kaede gulped, she knew better than to let it be known she was awake, it would make Kikyo angry and worried, why, Kaede did not know. "Be very quiet." She told herself as she tip toed passed the door, towards the kitchen where she knew a pitcher of water would be waiting for her and her thirst.
"Kikyo." A slight moan. Kaede froze.
"A man?"She wondered out loud. "No men 'ave lived her since Papa and Mama died." She felt her heart accelerate in her chest at the realization, fear overcoming her, there was a man in her house, a man with her sister. Even at only seven years old, she knew about evil men, she had heard the tales of evil men, men who hurt girls—after all her family owned a tavern and that's where the stories always originated.
"Aw."
Kaede gulped, that cry had been far different, familiar, recognizable. "Kikyo." She whispered into the air as she heard the sound of a louder cry, this cry sounding stressed and vulnerable.
"Yes." Came Kikyo's words immediately after, sounding light and airy, enraptured and unfocused, a contradiction to her sound.
With those words a feeling of petrified terror took over the confused Kaede, her arms wrapping around herself, her eyes huge and wide awake as she looked for anything, anything that could help her. Yet, the room was too dark to really see and she had no candle with which to lighten it, and alas, no one can see without a candle on a moonless night.
"What do I do?" She wondered silently as she danced from foot to foot her eyes on the door where more strange noises were coming from. It was closed tight, probably latched, she couldn't get in, and that meant, she couldn't help her sister. "Sister." She whispered into the air wishing, hoping she was heard but the noises only escalated. "What do I do? What do I do?"
She gritted her teeth as a particularly loud cry penetrated the air, followed by a grunt and a low moan—her sister's moan, a moan of pain. "Kikyo!" She shouted and rushed the door, her adrenaline fueling her movement, her will to protect her sister driving her to grab the door handle and throw the door opened (her mind not even registering the fact that it indeed hadn't been latched) just in time to see two very shocked people.
"Wha—what the fuck?" A black haired boy said, his bare back just visible from the light of a candle on the nightstand as he hovered above her sister, waist covered by a sheet, a sheet that covered both of them scarcely.
"Get off her!" Kaede shouted her bravery unfitting of a child her age as she stood, attempting to make herself larger as she pointed an accusing finger at the man.
"Oh my lord." Came the sound of Kikyo's voice from her place underneath the man, her face buried in her hands.
"Kikyo?" The man addressed looking down at her sister, his face drawn in confusion.
"That's my baby sister."She supplied through muffled fingers.
"Your—," The man looked slowly over at Kaede in horror. "Baby sister?"
Kikyo parted her hands to look at him briefly. "Yes." She barely got out before covering her eyes again. "My little sister—oh lord."
Kaede pursed her lips angry that they were not listening to her, ignoring her. Staring at her sister and the boy, she gave Kikyo a death glare fitting of a mother. "Kikyo," She said firmly drawing the two adults back to her. "Who's that boy?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she had seen her father do when he was alive. "And—," She continued as she tilted her head to the side, her train of thought interrupted as she noticed one very strange detail for the first time. "Are you naked?"
"O—kay." The black haired boy drew out the syllables, rolling off of her sister while keeping the sheet up about his middle. He reached down to the ground picking up a pair of pants that he hastily put on underneath the covers before he stood. He turned and looked back at Kikyo his eyes pleading.
"Go," She commanded softly her face covered by her hands still. "I'll take care of this."
The man nodded, his eyes looking over at Kaede, worriedly, the flickering candlelight highlighting the beautiful brown orbs that looked at the small girl taking in her every feature. Kaede shifted uncomfortably under the gaze, noting the way the man took in everything, looked at everything as if comparing her to someone else.
And then, there eyes met, that blacked haired man looked her straight in the eye and as he did, he froze—his expression one of wonder as he studied her irises. For a moment he looked away, looked back at her sister who was still hidden in shame. Staring at the other woman as if trying to force himself to believe that they were related. He shook his head then, a slow gesture, his black hair cascading like a wave down his back, the action causing Kaede's felt her heart flutter, a sensation she had never felt before, had never known she could feel before—and then he turned.
Those brown eyes focusing back on her but differently from before, no longer were they confused and questioning, instead they were soft, kind and gentle, a faint semblance of a smile behind them. It was a look that told Kaede she could trust him, that he would never hurt her, it was a look that was completely and utterly reassuring. And then, he turned away from her, his back to her as he grabbed his shirt, throwing it over his head, leaving it hanging out instead of properly tucked in. Without a word or glance he grabbed his boots as well, shoving them on his feet hastily without tying their laces.
"Bye." He mumbled as he gripped the sides of the window, pulling himself into the sill, whether he was speaking to the older or younger sister, the two would never know. And then he slipped out of the window frame, disappearing silently, an unknown predator hidden in the dark but to her, to the little girl who watched him go, he was not a marauder that hunted covered by darkness's veil, he was a friendly shadow tucked safely within a black night.
Kaede smiled faintly as the memory faded a soft giggle concealed on her tongue, the humor that had been lost on her as a child amplified now that she was an adult. That had been the first time she had ever seen Captain Inuyasha of the pirate ship Shikuro. And even after all these years her first impression had yet to change, even after everything that had proceeded that first initial, awkward meeting, she still saw the man in the same exact way—a friendly shadow within a black night.
"That is what you are, isn't it Inuyasha?" She thought as an old wrinkled hand rubbed her wrist. "Even after learning the truth." She felt tears start to form in the sides of her one good eye. "That you were actually a demon," She glanced to the side, taking in the silver hair of a man she had known for the majority of her life. "Even after," She turned away from him, her heart aching. "Kikyo died and you left I never once changed my mind." She took a deep breath, calming her welling emotions, opening her one good eye to look at the floor below her feet. "Inuyasha, you are a good man."
Kaede sighed deeply with the thought, her eye closing as the memories seeped inside of her, the tears drying up. "Kikyo." The name seemed to be whispered in her mind. "It's hard to believe that you've been gone for over fifty years or for that matter—," The sentence hung limply in the air as she raised her head, opened her eye, and allowed herself to stare openly at the young Kagome Dresmont. "That you've returned."
"How is that even possible?" The sound of Sango's voice hit the room like a trumpet rallying troops, instantly bringing Kaede back to the situation at hand. "Last time I checked we're born as individuals with unique souls, we aren't left over remnants of someone else." She huffed, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at the old woman Kaede defiantly.
Kaede only chuckled in response, the sound forced even to her own ears, as her one good eye looked at Sango full of sadness and artificial mirth. "I once thought the same thing, I did." Her old voice range out into the room, wise with experience, sure and aware, a voice that simply knew the truth and no longer saw the need to lie. "Then someone proved me wrong, taught me of—different—beliefs, demonic beliefs." Her one good eye darted towards the Captain, looking at him with eyebrows raised as if giving him an opening to take over the conversation.
Inuyasha only turned away, however, his body tense, focused, as if apprehensive about what was taking place before him, while at the same time accepting, understanding. It was as if he already knew that it was going to be okay but was not yet ready to completely admit that as truth. "I know you're listening." She whispered low, so low that only Inuyasha and Shippo heard her speak.
Said boy looked around, his green eyes appearing gigantic as his head darted between the Captain and the old woman. He narrowed his small brow, a curious look forming on his face as those eyes took in the sight of the Captain, standing firm and tall, his ears swerving on his head this way and that, the only true indication that he was listening to Kaede at all.
A quiet throat clear drew Shippo away from the Captain to look at Kaede, only to find the old woman staring at him expectantly. Ever so slightly she shook her head back and forth, a sign that Shippo understood instantly. "You didn't hear a word." It said.
Shippo nodded his head in firm understanding, his pride at keeping secrets and being trusted fueling his silence. "Ya can trust me, old lady, I won't say a word." He thought to himself as he puffed out his chest. "I'll just listen." (Curiosity is a strong influence on young kits after all.)
"You should explain this to them, they deserve to know." The old woman whispered just as Shippo started to listen in on the one sided conversation again.
The Captain snorted but otherwise didn't utter one word.
Shippo blinked as he tilted his head to the side, the old woman's words sounding off, or more accurately just plain strange. "What 'oes the Captain need ta explain? Maybe this rein'nation thing?"
"You must tell them about your past, that's the only way they'll understand." She continued so quietly that Shippo was unsure whether she had spoken at all, only catching bits and pieces of what might have been said. His green eyes turned to the Captain, waiting for a reaction, it would be the only true proof he had that the old woman had said anything at all.
Unfortunately for Shippo, this time the Captain didn't even snort, only flattened his ears to his head, and there was no way of telling if that was a response to Kaede or just the Captain simply moving his ears, perhaps evading a bug or reacting to his own inner thoughts. "That's not fair." Shippo grumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So much fur listening in, I ain't learned nothin'."
Miroku frowned as he glanced down at the young Shippo that rested in his grip, he had noticed the moment the kit had started to behave oddly, leading him to notice the strange yet subtle interaction between both Captain and old woman. Narrowing his eyes he looked back and forth between Kaede and Inuyasha, knowing by the movements of the Captain's ears, and the slight motion of Kaede's lips, that the old woman had spoken and the Captain had at least listened to her words. What had been said, however, he had no idea and that bothered him. "Something's going on," He nodded to himself as he darted his eyes between the two looking for any further signs of communication. "Something deeper than just old friendship."
He gritted his teeth at the idea, he had always know everything there was to know about the Captain—he knew how long he had been at sea, he knew the Captain's first Captain, he knew every post the man had ever manned, he knew about the moonless nights, he knew the Captain was only a half-demon, and yet—he had never once heard any mention of this woman, Kaede, or this mysterious Kikyo.
"What's going on?" He questioned himself as his eyes darted back and forth between the old woman and Inuyasha. Narrowing his eyes he turned towards Sango, looking at her for answers, hoping she had noticed something he hadn't after her outburst. He was met with equally confused brown eyes. "Sango?" He whispered despite himself.
"I don't know." She responded before she turned away from him, her eyes going back to the two still figures, the first of her Captain and the second of this mysterious woman they knew nothing about. "Scratch that," She found herself thinking. "I'm looking at two people I know nothing about. Absolutely nothing." Narrowing her eyes she clicked her tongue in annoyance before turning her head to the side, taking in the silent Kagome.
The girl hadn't moved since she had last spoken, instead she merely stood straight and upright but with her unfocused eyes glued to the floor, as if searching the old wood for answers. If only those floors could talk, then perhaps she would have already understood what had yet to be explained.
"How can she be someone's reincarnation?" The young Sango wondered as she watched her friend, the only other woman in the world she got along with, the only other woman in the world who seemed to understand her and accept her for who and what she was and was one. "It goes against everything I was ever taught."
Slowly, shoving her thoughts aside, Sango reached out and placed a timid hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome?" She uttered the young girls name softly, attempting to bring her back to the conscious world.
Kagome shifted towards Sango hastily at the sound of her name, her eyes wide with slight surprise. "Wh—?" She blinked several times before shaking her head clearing away the thoughts she just couldn't grasp. Taking a deep breath she sighed, long and loud, her eyes closing tightly as she organized her mind, attempting to understand what was going on. "I'm a reincarnation, the reincarnation of Inuyasha's love, I have her soul. How is that possible?" She groaned before forcing herself to open her eyes.
Her grey depths met the darkened room easily as she took deep breaths, slow profound penetrating breaths that seemed to calm her and help her focus. "I'm okay," She answered Sango's unvoiced question before she turned her eyes outwards, towards the room before her, her pooling irises focusing on the only person in the room that she knew had definite answers and was, more importantly, willing to share them. "Kaede," she began as she gently shrugged Sango's hand from her arm, stepping away from her towards the knowledge keeper that was the old woman. "I'm Kikyo's reincarnation, I have her soul, right?"
"Yes and no." The old woman mumbled slightly her good eye slowly drawing back towards Kagome away from the silent Captain, her nearly inaudible words not reaching him as she had hoped. "You have your own soul Kagome but it once belonged to Kikyo."
Kagome narrowed her eyebrows, confusion evident on her face. "If it once belonged to her," She began while bringing one hand up to hold her head, as if warding off an oncoming headache. "Then it's hers, not mine."
Kaede shook her head slowly from side to side, her one good eye closed. "It is in you now," The eye opened slowly, almost sadly before Kaede looked Kagome directly in the eyes. "So it is yours now."
"But, shouldn't—," Kagome bit her lip as she attempted to gather her thoughts. "Shouldn't it have gone somewhere? When we die we go to heaven or hell, ah—," She groaned as she rubbed her temple, attempting to massage the now apparent headache. "We don't come back. When you die you're dead, that includes your soul."
"Not always." Kaede began with a sincere, apologetic smile on her face. As if she was trying to say she was sorry for all the confusion she had started. "Sometimes, as is the case with your soul, you do come back."
The room grew silent again, as this new information hit the air. It seemed impossible to the humans standing around Kaede, for a soul to come back from the dead, after all they had always been taught that a soul belongs to one person, when that person dies they go to heaven or hell, including their soul. So how, how was it possible for a soul to go to neither but instead to be reborn. It was a teaching none of them, with the exception of one, had ever been taught.
Miroku placed his hand on his chin, resting it between his thumb and pointer finger, contemplating what he already knew and what he had left to learn. "Why?" Miroku questioned as he stepped forward, standing next to Kagome, his eyes penetrating the air as his black visage gazed at Kaede determined. "Why would a soul come back to earth, why would it be reincarnated?"
Kaede turned her eye towards Miroku, her wrinkled face lighting into a smile. "You already know," She stated wisely her grin never wavering. "Don't you?"
Miroku flinched at the true words, he had read about the idea of reincarnation before but not in great detail. "Refresh my memory, please."
Kaede only continued to smile, her eyes warm and full of a sneakiness not fitting of her advanced age. "Souls do not go to heaven right away." She began as she walked away from them, slowly moving her old body with her hands drawn behind her back. With a huff she reached to pull out a car for herself, yanking it across the floor with a sickening screech as the wooden legs met wooden floor. Grunting she set down, the chair facing outwards towards the group of much younger people. "For a soul to go to heaven," She began again. "It must first become pure."
"Pure?" Miroku whispered faintly, the word hauntingly familiar.
"Yes," She nodded her head, a sign of confirmation. "To become pure a soul must live many lives and learn many lessons," She smiled faintly. "With each life it will draw closer to inner peace and purity. It might take a million times, a million lives before it reaches that inner sanctum, but each time it draws closer and closer to being at peace and being pure."
"And when it becomes at peace with itself—," Kagome mumbled as understanding of the concept at hand dawned on her. "It goes to heaven?"
Kaede shook her head no gently. "It becomes enlightened," Her words were soft and airy, as if she had already experienced this great moment of life. "It understands everything, the reason we live, the reason we love, the reason we suffer, the reason we die, the reason for existence, the purpose behind our very lives, it understands all of this and so much more." Her eyes shinned as she spoke, as if she truly believed that this was the ultimate truth and for demons it was. "At that time," She uttered with a sincere smile on her lips. "It will transcend the earth we know and will come to be in what humans know as heaven."
Kagome nodded her head in understanding, the theory and belief system Kaede was presenting to her making perfect sense. "A soul must be enlightened to go to heaven." She stated as she nodded her head confirming her understanding with herself. "So you're saying, Kikyo's soul wasn't enlightened, so it had to be reborn?"
The old woman's smile vanished as she took a deep breath, looking away from Kagome to the window leading outside. It was growing darker by the second, the faint light of the night an impending reminder of the darkness of man. "Yes." She whispered very faintly, her one good eye wavering as she watched that darkness. "Kikyo had much to learn."
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably at the words an action not noticed by anyone other than Kaede who caught the slight movement out of the corner of her good eye. She knew that Inuyasha more than anyone else was well aware of Kikyo's shortcomings. "Sister." Kaede whispered under her breath, her very voice sounding mournful as faint as it was. "If only you had not been so driven by hate."
Kagome nodded her head, as Kaede's earlier words sank in. "So she was reborn in me—or well—her soul was, right?" She continued at Kaede's nod. "So it would become pure enough to go to heaven."
Kaede nodded once sharply before turning her one good eye back on Kagome transfixing it on the girl. "It was." She confirmed before continuing. "You are the next life, a step closer to heaven."
"So," Kagome tried to conclude. "I am Kikyo just reborn."
"No," Kaede said smartly her eye shimmering with something akin to annoyance as if her patience was wearing thin. "You are Kagome."
Kagome growled slightly. "But I have her soul, I'm taking it one step closer to purity."
"That soul is now yours." Kaede grumbled. "I never said you were Kikyo, I said you possess her soul, which means you were once her but are now you." The old woman looked at Kagome sharply. "Just as Kikyo was once someone else but was still Kikyo."
"I have a headache." Shippo mumbled from his place on Miroku's shoulder as he glanced between the two women.
"So do I." Miroku replied with a nod of his head.
A rather loud sigh brought all eyes to the Captain. The man was standing with his arms crossed around his chest, his eyes tightly closed, and his mouth drawn into a tight line—a line of frustration and anger, of confusion and acceptance. Slowly his gold eyes opened turning to look at all of those around him, focusing on each of them individually before turning his eyes to Kagome, penetrating her with a look that was somewhere between longing and a glare. "A soul doesn't dictate who you are," He said firmly before looking away from her, his neck jerking to the right as if he was forcing himself to turn away. "Just because your soul was once hers doesn't make you her. People are reincarnated all the time but that doesn't mean they're someone other than who they were born."
His voice trailed off harshly as he uncrossed one arm so he could bring it to his face, rubbing at the bridge of his nose, his eyes once again closed tight as he attempted to massage the tension away.
"You're you and she was—herself." He continued his voice growing somewhat softer as he spoke, as if the memory of her was taking hold of him. "You're nothing like her." He finished bluntly, his eyes drawn to the floor, looking down at the cracks between each wooden plank. "Nothing at all."
Kagome felt her heart clutch in her chest as he spoke. "You're nothing like her." The words echoed in her head a new wave of confusion coming back to her. "If I'm nothing like her, nothing like the girl you loved and—lost—then why, why do you like or act like you like me?" Kagome turned her head away from him, bringing a hand to her chest where the gemstone dangled against her skin. Her hands just barely brushed it and she felt a little spark of electricity shot threw her that she didn't understand any more than she understood what was going on right now. "Why is everything so complicated?"
"Inuyasha is right Kagome." Kaede interjected as she watched the young distressed girl her one eye only vaguely registering the item she was playing with. "You seem nothing like my sister. Your soul might be the same but your personalities are very different."
Kagome gritted her teeth anger overcoming her as she dropped her hand from the gem and clutched a tight fist. "If we're so different then how do you know that my soul is hers?" She ground out, her voice only a few decibels away from screaming.
"I saw it." Kaede responded. "It was easy to tell because you and my sister do have one thing very much in common."
"And what's that?" Kagome asked sarcastically as she crossed her arms over her chest, almost as if she was trying to comfort herself by guarding herself.
"You're both Miko's and Miko souls are easy to identify." Came the Captain's response.
Kagome raised her eyebrow at the strange word. "Miko?" She whispered out loud, her face drawn in a line of confusion. "What's a Miko?"
"In western society they are priestesses you could say." Kaede informed gently the expression on her face soft and reassuring to the confused Kagome. "They have super natural powers and are closely connected to God."
"So they're a nun with mystical powers?" Sango mumbled as she tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow in the process.
Kaede smiled amused before chuckling deep in her throat. "Not exactly. They're spiritually empowered women but not by their faith entirely, some have no faith at all but retain their powers. It is something they are simply born with."
"That doesn't—," Sango began but was instantly interrupted.
"How," Everyone in the room froze as Kagome's words range in the air drawing everyone to her form that stood rigid and taunt. "How do you know I'm a—," She stopped as if unable to say the word, "A Miko?" She finished, her eyes going to stare at Kaede, pleading with her.
"Manten."
Kagome blinked surprised as her eyes darted away from Kaede to Inuyasha, the one person she had been trying desperately to ignore throughout the entirety of the ordeal so far, and the person who had just answered her. He was standing only a few short feet away from her now, but it felt like miles. She gulped at the sight, taking a deep she directed her questions to him. "Manten." She whispered then cleared her throat before starting again, this time with more confidence. "What about him?"
The Captain inhaled deeply, sucking the breath in like his life depended on it before he turned to her, his eyes meeting her grey depths, taking in the storm that was raging within them. For a second they were all he could see, that beautiful and amazing difference between Kagome and Kikyo. "Those eyes—her eyes," He found his mind racing. "They're just so—different." And even if he couldn't say it, even to just himself, he knew he loved that about her. "Do you remember," He finally began as his tucked his thoughts away. "How Manten died?"
Kagome blinked confused, as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth perplexed. In truth she didn't remember much from the encounter, she remembered the fear, she remembered her conclusion—the Captain was a better man—she remembered everything going fuzzy afterwards and she remembered the dark but after that there was nothing. Or, at the very least, there was something, something she couldn't quit grasp, buried deep within her mind. A flash of a face, red eyes, a snarl, and then silence, darkness, and the next thing she knew she was awake in the Captain's room.
Kagome shook her head slowly as she pushed the fuzzy recollection aside. "All I remember is what happened when he was alive."
"And what was that?" Inuyasha prodded as he gazed at Kagome, taking in her everything as he did so, focusing on her, seeing her, not believing that her and Kikyo were actually the same person and yet knowing it was the truth. "It can't even be possible." He whispered in his mind. "For someone as cold as Kikyo to become someone as sweet and warm as Kagome. How is it possible for two women to be woven from the same cloth?" He wanted to reach for her, to pull her to him to look at every inch of her flesh so he might find his answer. There must be more physical differences other than wavy hair and grey shinning eyes. There must be proof, proof he needed to feel, needed to see—something to a reassure him about what he already knew.
Unaware of the Captain's thoughts Kagome lost herself in his question. "I can't tell him. I can't tell him what Manten did, he'd get angry but—," She stopped her train of thought, her eyes lifting to look at the Captain lost in his own. "Why would he care?" She questioned. "Would he care because I'm Kagome, I'm me, or because—I was once Kikyo?" The answer to that question scared her, she didn't want to know. Shaking the thought from her mind she turned back to the incident, forcing herself to focus on the encounter with Manten instead of the feelings of the Captain. They weren't much better.
She could still feel him, the feel of his hands on her hips, massaging lower and lower, the feel of his lips brushing the back of her ear, moist and disgusting as they touched every inch of her neck, and then his body pushing against her backside, rubbing in circles as he moaned. She shuttered involuntarily, bile rising in her throat as she remembered the horrid encounter.
Standing only a few feet away Inuyasha sniffed the air in order to gauge Kagome's feelings only to furrowed his eyebrows as a spike came to Kagome's scent, the scent of fear, the scent of disgust, a scent he had smelt coming off Sango back in the old days before Miroku had healed her delicate soul. He gritted his teeth tightly together as the smell became stronger, the importance of it and the meaning behind it sparking his every instinct, telling him to kill Manten again, to bring the bastard back from the dead and kick his ass.
"He hurt mate." The demon in him snarled from the recesses of his mind. "He touched mate!"
"He's dead," Inuyasha argued back attempting to control both sides of himself but finding it difficult since he too was equally as mad that he hadn't been the one to make the man suffer. "She killed him, so there's nothing we can do!" He snarled not even realizing that for the first time he hadn't denied that Kagome was his mate.
"I remember—," Kagome suddenly began stopping Inuyasha's internal fight with her shaky voice. "He was threatening me—threatening to—um—," She hesitated with a deep breath, Sango stepping up beside her offering a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Kagome smiled faintly at the gesture. "He threatened to kill me."
Inuyasha growled low, he knew she was telling a lie.
"And I—I got angry," Kagome continued her voice a little stronger now. "I remember feeling light headed for a second and then totally at peace." Kagome tilted her head to the side as she relived that feeling over again. "My heart slowed, everything did, like the world was frozen and then everything just vanished like my mind went blank." Kagome paused as a thought tickled the back of her mind. "There's more I feel like there's more." It seemed to say but she couldn't pin point it, it was all fuzzy just little flashes of something else. Subconsciously, she reached for the jewel around her neck the gesture catching Kaede's old eyes.
"Curious." The old woman thought as she watched Kagome hesitate to touch the gem. "Could that be—its been so long." The old woman glanced at Inuyasha frowning ever so slightly. "I guess that explains why he's here without it—he'd finally know."
"What am I missing, why do I feel like I'm missing something?" Kagome wondered her mind unable to comprehend what it was trying to make her remember. Shaking her head Kagome forced herself to focus on the here and now. "The next thing I knew," She spoke the feeling in the back of her mind starting to dissipate. "I was waking up on the ship."
Kaede nodded her head as she listened, worrying her lip before she turned and looked at Inuyasha, knowing without having to ask that he had been the one to get her to the ship, and that he had been witness to whatever had happened after Kagome went into the Miko trance. "What did you see?" She asked promptly, her old eye commanding, telling Inuyasha that it was not a good time to lie.
"A light," Inuyasha responded without hesitation, his eyes darting this way and that, not daring to focus on anyone in the room. "The same kind of light—," He reached up a hand to scratch his nose, a gesture that everyone in the room knew meant he was uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "That Kikyo used."
Kaede nodded her head in understanding, she knew this power well, she had seen it with her own two eyes. "Purification energy?" She spoke in a hushed whisper. "I'm guessing Manten was a demon."
"Yes," The Captain replied this time hoarsely as if he was finding it difficult to speak.
"And she purified him?" Kaede maintained as she pointed at Kagome who looked between the two with bewildered grey eyes.
"I did what?" She questioned, her eyes a turbulent storm of uncertainty and fear. "I purified him?"
"Yes," Kaede nodded at the girl. "The most basic thing a Miko can do, is purify a demon until there is nothing left but a pile of ashes. It is the only way a demon can go to hell."
Kagome instantly brought a hand over her mouth, her eyes huge and terrified, her breathing instantly becoming labored as she shook her head back and forth, a light headed sensation coming over her. "I killed him?" She whispered, her breathing growing harsher with each second. "I killed a man?"
"Kagome," Sango stepped in before Kagome could hyperventilate, gripping the girl by both shoulders holding her up so her knees wouldn't buckle. "He deserved it! He was going to—," She licked her lips unable to say the word that they all knew was the truth. "He was going to kill you. If you wouldn't of done something he would have succeeded and you—," Tears gathered in the young woman's eyes as she pulled Kagome towards her, yanking the girl into a tight hug amid Kagome's own struggles.
"But I killed a man, I killed someone," Kagome cried out horrified that she had done such a thing, horrified that she had hurt another living soul. It was, unknown to her, another difference between her and Kikyo.
Sango closed her eyes tightly at the sound of Kagome's words, refusing to let go as the girl struggled, instead holding her closer, pulling her so close that she could just whisper in her ear, a sentence meant for only Kagome's ears. "If you wouldn't have done it, you would have ended up like me."
Kagome froze the fight leaving her as Sango's words hit her full force, like a bucket of cold water being poured over her head. She felt horrible, she knew what Sango had been through, she knew that Sango would have taken any chance to kill the man who had raped her. She knew that Sango was envious, was glad that Kagome had the chance to save herself, and that made her feel even worse. "Sango." She gulped tears coming to her eyes as she brought her limp around her friend, returning the hug with remorse. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Came Sango's shaky reply as the older girl clung to Kagome, switching roles as it were. "I'm just glad you're safe."
Kaede smiled faintly at the two girls from the sidelines, knowing now without a doubt that Kagome was in fact a Miko, that was the only way a light such as that could have come from a human. "A Miko." Kaede whispered as she looked at Kagome. "She really is one if she can purify a demon." Kaede took a deep breath, blinking several times, holding the tears at bay with her eyelashes before she turned and looked at Inuyasha, her eyes shinning. "Now—," She began loudly drawing everyone elses attention back to her. "Would you like to tell me the other reason you're here?" She motioned towards Kagome a gesture no onw understood.
"Um?" Inuyasha barely replied as he looked between Kagome and Kaede with confusion marking his face. "We already talked about that," He told her as he raised an eyebrow and leaned slightly forward as if to get a better look at the old woman. "Are you going senile?"
Kaede gave him a strange look as she glanced over at Kagome who was still clinging to the other woman as she tried to calm herself. "You don't know?" She whispered softly appearing completely baffled.
"Know what?" Inuyasha said slowly as he turned back to her, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. He opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Kaede's raised hand. "Kaede?" He whispered perplexed but the old woman only shook her head as she placed her arms on the side of the chair she was still sitting in and hoisted herself up to her feet before she began to take slow steps away from him and towards Kagome.
Little by little, Kaede came to stand before the young Kagome her eye gentle as she gazed at the youthful girl. "Kagome," She pronounced the name slowly, assuring. "May I see the jewel around your neck?"
"The jewel?" Kagome muttered as she pulled ever so slightly away from Sango and touched the small gem that hung around her neck. "You mean this one?" She offered slowly as she bit her lip feeling oddly protective of the gem that rested around her neck.
"Yes," Kaede whispered quietly into the air as Inuyasha watched her with rapt attention. "May I see it?"
Kagome looked at the Captain for permission and watched as he licked his lips before giving her just the slightest inclination of his head. She bit the inside of her cheek at the sign and turned to look at the old woman distrustfully. "What could she want with it?" She wondered as she carefully reached for the gemstone with timid hands gripping the jewel firmly before pulling it from around her neck and holding the slender clear gem by its dirty old chain so that the old woman could see it.
Kaede nodded solemnly, her eye lighting on the jewel with utter contempt before she turned away, directing her focus to the Captain behind her, her expression one of pity. "It's the same one you gave Kikyo, isn't it?" She asked him drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
Inuyasha's ears flattened on his head as he turned away from the old woman, his eyes unreadable to everyone around him. Finally, he nodded, a curt swift gesture as he looked away from them, choosing instead to focus on the wall across from him.
"The one I gave back," Kaede continued her gentle prodding. "After her death?"
Inuyasha huffed and brought his hands to his sides, clutching his fist tightly, his body shaking slightly. "The very same."
From her spot behind Kaede, Kagome watched the exchange with a cracking heart. "It was a gift for Kikyo?" She thought as she watched the jewel swing around on the chain she still held in the air, her body frozen and unable to move. "A gift she returned when she died—a death gift of sorts." She gulped and slowly brought the jewel back towards her heart, holding it tightly against her as a feeling of complete and utterly confusion waking in her chest. "Why would he give it to me and have me wear it?" She shook her head, her eyes never leaving the strange pinkish white crystal. "Did he give it to me because he gave it to Kikyo and it just made sense? It's like he's trying to turn me into her." She ground out anger fueling her earlier indignation. In that instant she wanted to throw the gem as far away from her as possible maybe even shove it in the face of its owner but something stopped her, a more rational side of her brain. "What if he had another reason?" She internally groaned as she physically put a hand to her forehead. "Why can't I just have some peace and not be confused?"
Kagome didn't have time to ponder further however, because once again the conversation had progressed to something completely new and confusing to everyone, not just her.
The old woman still looking at Inuyasha drew her lips into a thin line watching the dog demon intently. "When," She spoke her one good eye narrowing. "Did your memories come back Inuyasha?"
The room seemed to freeze as Kaede's words hung in the air. Sango and Miroku both glanced at one another as if asking the other what was going on yet knowing neither would have an answer. Kagome tightened her grip on the gem her eyes looking between both Inuyasha and Kaede as she tried to decipher what was going on.
Inuyasha stood still for several minutes as Kaede's words permitted the air, one of his hands reached up and touched the now absent spot on his chest where the jewel normally rested, a nervous gesture that now was pointless. "My memories?" He managed to mumble into the air his voice devoid of any emotion.
Kaede nodded smartly her old face looking almost pained. "Was it before or after you took off the necklace?"
"Before." He told her honestly as he tried to comprehend what Kaede was getting at. "What's going on?" He thought to himself as he felt his emotions start to break free from his carefully maintained control. "I knew something had blocked them but I didn't think she'd know." He cleared his throat loudly. "What do you know Kaede?"
"The truth." The old woman spoke her voice almost coming apologetic to everyone in the room. "I think you know it too."
Inuyasha put up a hand, his other hand going to his face to touch his temple, as if holding his anger in check. "Are you suggesting that necklace," He waved his hand absently at Kagome. "Stopped my memory?" His voice shook as he spoke. "It never did that before!" He spat out as he glared at the old woman his eyes practically trying to burn into her as his hands trembled with his own anger welling up within him.
Kaede only nodded, shrugging her shoulders as if to say: I knew this wouldn't go well. "She didn't want you to remember."
Inuyasha gritted his teeth, taking his hand away from his head in the process. "She put an enchantment on it before she died and then told you to give it back to me?" He pushed as he clutched his hands at his sides, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared the old woman down. "Did she just want to fuck with my head?"
"It was her dying wish," Kaede informed with a soothing voice attempting to control the temper she saw flaring. "She told me to give it back to you because you were its proper owner. I didn't find out till later that she enchanted it." She continued on, her hands reaching out in a placating gesture of good faith. "When Kagome's power activated the enchantment must have been broken." She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry but she didn't want you to know her, she wanted you to forget."
"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled, anger over flowing him as he slammed his fist into the table to his immediate left, causing it to shatter into wood and splinters.
Sango and Kagome both jumped in reflex as the small pieces of wood fell all around them. Instinctively, Miroku stepped to Kagome's side putting a gentle hand on the young girls shoulder. Surprised, Kagome looked up at the older man catching his tense black eyes that seemed to tell her it would be okay and she shouldn't be afraid. She nodded shakily that she understood just as Sango came to stand at her other side the little Shippo looking downright terrified in her arms.
"It wasn't her choice." The Captain's voice breaking into the room again drew her away from the protective barrier of people forming around her.
"But it was the choice she made." Kaede bravely stepped forward her hands still held out to him in a sign of peace. "You can't change the past Inuyasha." She continued to sooth. "What is done is done, the only thing you can deal with is what is front of you now and the power that jewel possesses."
"It's just a fucking jewel," Inuyasha screamed his temper overflowing as rage filled him. The truth was it wasn't just any fucking jewel; it was a gift given to him long ago by a woman he had cared for more than any other in the world. "Mother." He thought as anger welled in him, anger for Kikyo who had dared to tamper with such a valuable possession. "Why did I give it to her?" He questioned himself as he remembered sitting in that woman's bed looking at her naked shoulder as she played with the gem around his neck.
"It's lovely." Kikyo whispered into the darkened room as her black hair fell haphazardly before one of her milky breast.
"You like it?" Inuyasha replied with a smile, his black eyes trained on her as she moved the gem within her fingers.
Kikyo laughed softly and looked up at him her eyes warm in a way that didn't match her daytime expression. "Of course." She whispered as she dropped the gem and moved closer to him her lips seeking his out in the moonlit room.
He inhaled sharply as he tasted her and pulled her closer to himself allowing their chest to press together, the jewel wedged in between. With a groan he pulled away from her and laid back down on the bed pulling her down with him until her head rested on his chest. "You're gonna kill me woman." He mumbled into her hair as he inhaled her flowery scent.
Kikyo giggled, a sound that was odd coming from her normally stony facade and then just as soon as the giggle had emerged it stopped as she became serious once again. "It will be morning soon."
His breath hitched in his throat. "I'll be gone before the sun comes up." He told her although his heart burned in his chest at the thought.
"It will be a long time before I see you again, won't it?" She whispered into the cool night. "I'll worry."
His heart pounded at her words, she had never once told him she would worry before. "I'll always return to you." He told her honestly into the dark as his heart swelled with overwhelming feelings for the bare woman resting her head on his chest.
She sat up, her fingers gently moving against his naked skin as her dark eyes stared down at him expectantly. "You promise?"
He never would understand why he reached for the chain around his neck then or why he smiled at her look of complete surprise as he draped it over her head allowing it to rest between the valley of her breast. It hung there dangling between her pale bosoms swinging back and forth, the moon's light catching it and reflecting in it as she looked at him in complete disbelief. "I promise." He whispered into the night and gave her a look that confirmed every word he had ever said. "I promise." He whispered on last time as he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers.
Inuyasha felt his mind come out of the memory his heart no longer burning with worry or unrequited love but instead with anger, betrayal, and hate. "After all that she tampered with it." He felt his hands shake violently as his whole body started to tense as if he was about to walk into a fight. "Gave it back to me in death with an enchantment on it so she could mess with my head, erase herself and every memory I ever had of her along with it!" He inhaled deeply as he saw red. "She didn't have the right!" The thought repeated itself, screamed itself over and over again in his mind. "She didn't have the right to tamper with my head, she didn't have the right to tamper with my mother's jewel!"
"Inuyasha listen to me," Kaede spoke loudly her voice a gift of reason in the haze that was Inuyasha's mind. "She had her reasons but that was fifty years ago. There's nothing we can do to change the past."
"But—," He tried to get out the importance of what her sister had done, tried to tell her that this wasn't just about her tampering with his memories but he couldn't—he couldn't even bring himself to admit that what hurt more was her using that sacred gem for such a shallow purpose. "She," He bit out using the only words he could. "Tampered with my mind." Inuyasha continued to rant, pacing back and forth, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "What gives her the right to mess with my head?" Unknown to the others he meant that in more ways than one.
Standing off to the side, Kagome watched the anger come across the Captain's face, her eyes studying him, studying the way he paced back and forth, his ears plastered to his skull, the little hairs on them standing on end as he moved, his whole body tense and angry at the woman who was her incarnation, the woman that he had loved. "Why would she do that?" She pondered as she watched the Captain bring his hands to his head, running one through his hair while the other one searched for something destructive to do. "Was she protecting him?"
"She always did this," The Captain continued to rant, unwittingly answering Kagome's questions. "She always wanted to erase it, to keep it hidden, glad she finally found a way!"
"Inuyasha," Kaede's voice rang out, this time sounding almost like a warning.
"You know it's true." He shouted back as he brought his fist down on another table, this time not breaking it but instead using it to hold himself up. "She would have wanted to forget, just so she wouldn't have to admit it."
"I know she hid it but it wasn't—," The old woman sighed closing her eyes. "It wasn't malicious."
"Malicious, no—," Inuyasha ground out sarcastically as he whipped his head around to look at her with fury brewing in his eyes. "More like practical."
"Inuyasha." Kaede heaved out exasperated her old shoulders slumping.
"Wouldn't want her to tarnish her dying reputation," He threw his hands in the air his voice just as sarcastic as the look on his face. "By telling the world about me, the fucking," He stopped just short of saying what he wanted to. "Demon pirate she bedded!"
Kagome didn't even have time to acknowledge the meaning behind those words as realization struck her. "That's it." She thought everything coming together just as the words left the Captain's mouth. "That's why—she—she was ashamed." Kagome blurted out, instantly bringing a hand to cover her mouth in horror.
The air became thick instantly, thick with remorse, thick with anger, thick with horror, thick with fear, thick with confusion and doubt. Beside her Sango backed up a little ways, letting go of Kagome completely in fear of the Captain's anger. She glanced at Miroku who had backed up as well, looking at her husband with wide eyes as if to ask if he had any idea what was going on. Miroku only shrugged before reaching out and placing a hand on her elbow backing her up more. Care about Kagome they might but fearing for their lives outweighed even those feelings of protection and concern.
The Captain turned towards Kagome slowly, his eyes landing on her, his earlier anger seeming to both dissipate and amplify as his gold irises stared at her in absolute horror. "I guess you agree wit—," He started but Kagome cut him off.
"I'm sorry." She said quickly waving her hands in front of her face hastily. "I didn't mean she should be I just meant isn't that—isn't that what you were implying that she was-s-s," She cleared her throat and looked down at the floor. "Ashamed but—I don't think—I mean I wouldn't be ashamed, a pirate is a—interesting choice for the woman who likes that sort of man—not saying that's a bad sort of man to like just that not everybody," Her eyes darted this way and that. "Likes a man that kills and steals and rapes but you don't do that, you're good I mean—," She laughed awkwardly while tapping two of her fingers together in front of her face. "I mean well—there's no reason to be ashamed of you. You're not the average pirate, you know, you don't rape, that I know of, and you do steal but kind of like Robinhood and you're nicer than all the other pirates I've met and your way more handsome and—," Her face turned bright red as her words registered in her head. "I'll stop talking now." She whispered as her huge eyes moved from looking at her hands to staring at her feet embarrassed.
Inuyasha felt his heart warm in his chest, the fear that had plagued him when she first spoke leaving, ebbing like an unwanted tide. "She doesn't agree." He found himself thinking. "You really are different than Kikyo, aren't you Kagome?"
Seeing a clear opening Kaede stepped forward, towards Inuyasha her hands held at her sides now instead of in front of her face. "Inuyasha," She drew out softly, drawing Inuyasha's attention away from Kagome and back to herself. "Where did you get the jewel?"
"I—," He started to speak but his voice caught in his throat because of the strange segue. "What?"
"Where," Kaede spoke slowly hoping he would become distracted by the new topic. "Did you get the jewel.
Inuyasha blinked taking in her words as all thoughts of Kikyo were changed to only thoughts of another woman. "Okaa-san." He gulped as the word filled his head there was only one person in this world that knew where the gem had come from. "Miroku," He glanced upwards at the boy who stood a little ways behind Kagome looking at him with a taunt expression on his face. Even with that fact in his head he found his mouth opening before he even had time to think on it further. "I don't know." He said as he looked at his son through hooded bangs. "I've had it as long as I can remember." He sent the young boy a discrete glare telling him not to say a word silently.
Miroku frowned at the silent command but nodded his head just as discretely. "You have people to trust." He thought as he tried not to sigh. "It wouldn't kill you to tell them." He let his shoulders slump knowing it was pointless, the Captain was a man of secrets who had burned too many times before. "For now I'll respect your decision but one day you're gonna have to start trusting people, you can't be a big mystery forever especially—." He glanced away from the Captain to the back of Kagome's head and smirked.
"Hm." Kaede took in the information with a slight frown. She eyed the man she had known since she was a child long and hard but Inuyasha merely stood before her straight backed and unmoving. After some moments, she sighed and gave him a slight smile that seemed to suggest she didn't quite believe a word he said. "Strange that you should have something," She motioned to the jewel with one hand. "As valuable as this."
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "It's just a gem." He told her bluntly with his eyebrow still raised high. "It has no value."
"Are you so sure?" Kaede spoke so softly that the men and women gathered around her had to strain to hear. Raising her head back to Kagome was still held the jewel around her neck she sighed, studying it for several minutes with her one good eye. "That is no ordinary jewel, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha felt his heart stop at her words. "What," Inuyasha gulped as he tried to control his speech. "What do you mean?"
"That jewel is part of something much bigger than you or me." She continued on her old voice rasping as she spoke. "It is far older than you or me." She gave him a look telling him how significant its age actually was. "It dates back all the way to beginnings of piracy."
Inuyasha frowned trying to figure out where Kaede was going with her words.
"The beginnings?" Miroku inquired with a step forward, inserting himself back into the conversation.
Kaede turned towards the boy and gave him a curt nod. "The very beginning," She told him firmly. "Over two thousand years ago."
"Piracy's been around that long?" The little Shippo's voice came from his place in Miroku's arms.
"Yes," Kaede nodded her head gently, giving the boy a soft smile. "As has this jewel or I should say, this fragment of the jewel."
"Fragment?" Sango repeated stepping up just as Miroku had moments before.
Kaede nodded her head for the millionth time before glancing back at Kagome, to the jewel that rested above the young girls breast. "It once belonged to a much larger jewel, the Shikon no Tama."
Inuyasha's ears immediately perked on his head, looking at the old woman with surprised gold eyes. "Shikon no Tama, the Shikon no Tama." He turned and gave the jewel a strange look as it rested against Kagome's chest.
"You know of it?" Kaede asked amazed, her brows raised in shock.
"I've heard of it," Inuyasha acknowledged as he ran a hand threw his hair. "It's an old bedtime story I was told as a child." He dropped his jaw opened as if trying to collect himself. "Mother, why didn't you ever tell me?"
"A bedtime story." Miroku whispered, cutting off Inuyasha's thoughts as he brought a hand to his chin. "Wait, you used to tell me," He snapped his fingers as he spoke, his eyes lighting on the Captain. "When I was little, you told the story, the story of the Shikon no Tama, the jewel created to master the seas."
"That's right," Inuyasha agreed as he looked at Miroku his face clouded with remembrance. "I had forgotten that I told you it."
Kaede looked between the two, noting the way their aura's seemed to line up, a soft warmth maintained between them, the warmth of a father and son. "He always did like children," She thought with a smile. "Fitting he claimed his own."
"How's the legend go?" Kagome asked finally brave enough to speak without dying of embarrassment from her earlier run away mouth.
"It was created by a powerful pirate," Miroku started with no further prompting. "Over two thousand years ago in order to control the sea. He was an otter demon and the jewel was designed to amplify his natural power, making him invincible to storms and typhoons. But after a few years of this, he got over ambitious—."
"They always do." Sango mumbled matter of factly from her spot next to Kagome, arms crossed over her chest.
"Shh," Shippo reprimanded with a finger firmly placed over his mouth from Miroku's arms, his little eyes perked as he listened to the bedtime story. "Listen don't talk," The boy said bluntly before turning back to the storyteller. "Go on Mr. Miroku."
"Okay," Miroku said as he quirked his head to the side. "He got ambitious and started taking over ships that belonged to the most power empires in the world. The demons in charge of those empires grew angry and decided to set their differences aside so they could kill him. They waited and waited, until he made a mistake, he came on land where his powers were weakened and they attacked. They killed the demon but started a new problem."
"They fought over the jewel." Kagome inferred with a nod of her head.
"Yeah," Miroku agreed with a short nod. "They fought and they fought until their kingdoms were nearly destroyed. Finally, with their empires in dishevel and their subjects ready to revolt they all met and came up with a deal. They would break the jewel and each would get a portion so that they all might share in its power."
"Over the years," Kaede continued where he had left off. "The jewel continued to be broken, passed down from emperor to warring sons in order to prevent sibling rivalries, until it was in a thousand pieces." Gently she reached out taking hold of the piece that till now had rested against Kagome's chest. "This is one of those pieces."
"It's three pieces actually." Inuyasha went on to correct her in an attempt to throw the trail off even more.
"Three?" Kaede questioned as she drew her brows together.
"Yeah, Manten had two." He blew out a breath as he spoke. "When I found Kagome they were there on the pile of ashes that was Manten—and a—when I picked them up they," He glanced at Kagome from under the thick blanket that was his hair, wondering if she remembered the way he had reacted, the way he had lost himself for a moment, the way she had brought him back. From the blank look on her face as he spoke, he was sure she didn't. "They combined even with mine." He lied.
Kagome furrowed her brow at the story. "I don't remember that." She told herself but she couldn't help the feeling that something in the Captain's words hadn't been true what was a lit however, she had no way to know.
"Remarkable." Kaede whispered astonished. "If they can combine, that means the jewel can be reconstructed and brought back to its original form."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Miroku questioned. "If we can reconstruct the jewel then we can obtain its power."
"Miroku," Inuyasha interjected with a shake of his head. "You know what happened originally in the legend, people fought over it and died for it, if we had the jewel and someone found out they would come after it, we would never be left alone."
"That's true." Miroku nodded his head in understanding, feeling a bit foolish. "But, couldn't we say the same for someone else?" He raised his head as the idea came to him, a feeling of dread entering his heart. "If someone else knows the legend and finds a jewel fragment, they might look too and if they combine it—,"
"They might use it like the man from the legend did." Sango finished for him, her body drawn in a line of uncertainty. "They might use it to control everything, everyone."
"You must complete the jewel." Kaede's voice echoed around them.
"Complete it?"
"Yes," The old woman nodded. "If you can complete it, then, maybe you can destroy it and prevent that from ever happening again."
"How?" Sango questioned as she lifted her arms up in bewilderment. "You can't just destroy it, it just becomes smaller and smaller pieces."
"Maybe you could melt it?" Shippo suggested. "Like gold?"
"I don't think that would work." Miroku mumbled with a shake of his head. "It's not the same as gold, it's like a diamond and those don't melt."
"I've always thought," They all turned to Kaede listening as the old woman spoke again. "That the jewel could be purified like a demon once it was whole."
"It's possible," Inuyasha mumbled in agreement. "They have similar spiritual energy, the jewel and a demon." He eyed the little gemstone that was still dangling from Kagome's fingers. "If they're similar then maybe they can be destroyed in the same way."
"There's only one problem." Miroku interrupted, his face almost apologetic as he looked at everyone. "How do we find them?" The question hung in the air loudly for several seconds. "It's not like we can just see them, I mean we didn't know Manten had them until after he died and god only knows how he got them."
"Kagome can track them." The answer came out of nowhere, unexpected and offered by an equally surprised Kaede.
"What?" Kagome began looking at the old woman in disbelief. "No I can't!"
"Yes you can," The old woman nodded as if trying to convince herself. "You just have to have the proper tool."
"A tool?" Sango questioned for everyone else in the group.
"Yes," Kaede nodded hastily. "Something that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family." Kaede pursed her lips as she finished her old eye looking towards the very bedroom where she had first seen Inuyasha a little over fifty two years ago. With a deep breath she walked away from everyone, going towards the door slowly her hands taunt behind her back as she walked. "I've never been able to use it but I think Kagome can." She called over her shoulder as she reached the door, placing an old wrinkled hand on the handle, turning it, and opening the door wide.
For only a second she disappeared into the room, the sound of her shuffling feet and her rummaging hands the only reminder that she was there with them. And then, as if she had never left, she return, a small brown wooden object in her old wrinkled hand. Hobbling hurriedly on old age worn legs, she reached Kagome, her hand extended towards the girl.
"Take it." She commanded softly yet with a stern line set on her face.
Kagome only hesitated a moment before she reached out, touching the odd wooden box with shaking hands. Her fingers brushed the wood first, a pinkish glow radiating off of them. As if burned Kagome pulled away, bringing her hand to her chest in fright, her eyes staring at the object completely baffled.
"It's okay," Kaede told her, her voice gentle and reassuring. "Take it."
"But—," Kagome's voice sounded unconvinced
"Just do it. It won't hurt you." Kaede pressed.
Kagome nodded timidly before reaching forward once again, this time not bothering to touch it with her fingertips but instead simply grabbing it from Kaede's hand without preamble, fighting her own fear. A bright pinkish light filled the room instantly, touching everyone and everything was an amazing pure glow, a glow that remarkably hurt no one, demon or human alike, instead to all it only felt warm, comforting, like a mother's hug and then, as quickly as it had appeared it disappeared, mellowing all the way back to Kagome's fingertips.
"What was that?" Shippo was the first to speak, his childish voice ringing throughout the room. "Evebybody else saw it 'ight?" He questioned as he looked at the adults around him who were too stunned to respond.
"Open it." Kaede commanded ignoring the young boy, directing Kagome instead. "Open it and tell me what you see."
Kagome narrowed her eyebrows, turning all of her attention to the small box in her hand. She tilted her head to the side, studying the smooth old wood, it was dark, the darkest wood she had ever seen, so dark that only her fingertips could make out the intricate carving that had been meticulously crafted in it. Carefully, she brought it to her face, squinting her eyes until they could see what her fingers had sensed. A circle, a gem carved in the middle, surrounding by writing she barely recognized.
"It's just like the writing on my shoulder." She noted silently as she continued her inspection, her eyes focusing now on the hinges that held the box together, they were a golden color, darker than the Captain's eyes and as she touched the metal she noted it was soft. "It's gold." She thought to herself she placed her fingers in position, readying herself to open the small wooden container.
Around her everyone watched, anxiously wondering what could possibly be inside, leaning closer and closer as they took in the sight of Kagome's fingers pulling the lid from the box's bottom.
"What is it?" They wondered in unison, unaware that their thoughts were the same. "What's inside?"
They all froze when the box lid completely opened and Kagome gasped. "It's a compass."
End of Chapter
Please Review
Edited for Content 7/31/2012 and 8/2/2012
Congrats Inuluva123 for being review 650!
Bonus Point:
There are two Japanese words in the title of this chapter Miko and Shikon, what do both of those words mean in English?
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
Easy enough boys and girls, it's funny because Inuyasha was pinned to a tree for fifty years. Congrats to those who got it and an extra point to The Real Inuyasha who gave their answer in a Russian accent, touché.
NiceStories, HeavenlyEclipse, TheBookAddict, vampire-fetish15, Novalia1001, inu-luva123, InuyashaFan, AriaLuvsInu, Miley4prez, Coka Cookie Cola, Purple Dragon Ranger, InuKag4eva, The Real Inuyasha, SweetHunniiBunnii, meravina, glon morski, Apolloson101, kagome inlove inu, AnimeRomanceFreak1990, babette101, Warm-Amber92, booklover2theextreme
Next Chapter:
Shikon Konpasu (Tentative Title)
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED 6/22/2011