The True Holder of Shikon

Disclaimer - Don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter 20 - Maiden of Shikon

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The darkness cloaked her dark, lithe shape as she ran from the village in the dead of night. Her ebony bangs thrashed against her face. The four glowing, ethereal shards in her forehead made her feel safe, even though she knew that something was wrong. When she was at the bottom of the hill, she stopped and stared into the darkness. She shifted and glanced down. Her taiji-ya uniform was perfect for a job like this. She was barely noticeable in the dark, save for the shards. One of the other things that made her feel secure was not only the bow and arrows strapped to her back but the familiar weight of Hiraikotsu. She began running steadily toward where she felt the power. She slid to a stop when she saw something move in the shadows. Two black, disfigured shapes entered her line of vision. After a moment, they attacked her at the same time. She pulled Hiraikotsu forward and blocked their attacks. She was there for a purpose and she wouldn't lose.

I have to find those women and children before the others become targets. Rin, Shippou, and Kagome...

She jumped back to avoid a swipe from one's claw that could have knocked her unconscious. She growled and ran forward, going for the kill. They dodged quickly. She swung her bone boomerang again and landed a hit right across the side of one's face. It howled in pain and tried to back away. She made a clean slice across its chest then went after the other. Sango was too smart to fall into its trap to lead her away from her path so she threw her weapon to the side and pulled out the bow. She engaged it and aimed. Then she dislodged.

Hit!

She watched as the glowing arrow hit its mark. The glow expanded before going out. She ran forward and looked around in the area before picking up an odd, glowing shard.

Good... I didn't hit it.

The shards had most likely been placed in the 'heart' of the youkai. That seemed to be the only logical answer. She had dissolved the aura that was trapped inside by the magic. That meant that anything with the same aura would dissipate. She went back to the other one and found that she was right in assuming that the shard was in the 'heart' or 'center.' As she went through the disgusting organs, she noticed that each one was from a different type of youkai. In that, she could be sure that the form was from a dark combination of different youkai types. She gazed at the shards for a moment longer before standing up and going for Hiraikotsu. When she was ready and had placed the shards in the glass container that Kagome had given her, she set off at a quick jog. She made fast tracks, weaving through trees expertly.

As long as I am able to lock on that aura, I can find whoever is responsible for this.

The surroundings grew different, darker in a sense. The trees began to grow twisted and bare and the air was heavy and laden with silence. The grasses were brown and withered. The sliver of silver moonlight cast an eerie, ethereal glow over the area and lit up the barrier that she was quickly approaching. She stopped in front of it and the shards in her forehead began glowing brightly. She went forward slowly, walking almost hesitantly through. A temple, appearing abandoned, shimmered into her sight as soon as she was through.

There is no mistake...this is the place.

Her quiet, cautious steps did not disturb the ancient, powerful silence that rested within the barrier. The line of trees ended as she neared the illuminated temple, giving way to a dry, barren clearing. She walked through it, feeling her resolve pushing in front of her emotions and keeping them locked away behind an icy wall. She paused in front of the steps before going up. They creaked and groaned under her sudden weight, breaking the deafening silence. Then the soft sound of the sliding door broke it a second time. Her mahogany eyes took in the perfectly kept condition of the room behind the door. A candle, giving off a soft, mysterious glow, sat on a table to the right. The circle of light revealed a man with short red hair in houshi robes, sitting against the wall with a book propped up in his lap. He lifted his gray eyes to gaze at her before smiling. She noticed markings that normally belonged to youkai occupying his face. He had one black stripe on each side of his face and sharp, pointed ears.

"What business do you have here?" He took in all that she was before be returned her gaze once more.

"I have come for you, Houshi-sama." Despite his youkai markings, she knew that he was a houshi.

"You have figured out my riddle?" She stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her. The air seemed sort of stale inside the temple. "What is your name, dear one?" She checked a shiver before narrowing her eyes at him. She knew that to those who had a deep sense of knowledge, a name spoke volumes. "One of such beauty cannot be nameless." Sango actually had three names: one as a taiji-ya, one as a priestess, and the other bearing both with the tie of the burden known as the Shikon no Tama.

"I am more complex than that." She smiled coldly. "I have more than one name." He did not seem surprised. That, however, changed when she took out the glass container with his shards inside. "And, it seems, so do you." A slow grin reached his lips. Sango stared evenly at the houshi sitting across from her. "Why have you been making false shards filled with your blood?" He sighed softly.

"I have been trying to get free for years." He answered. "My brother trapped me inside this barrier and the only way that I could survive was to send my creations." She frowned.

"The only way you..." Her voice trailed off. He watched her think, finding a fascination in her delicate beauty and her obvious deadliness. "Wait!" She snapped her fingers. "You take women and children because they are supposedly the weaker of any group." Her eyes narrowed. "They are more vulnerable and..."

"Stronger in the way that they feel." She gasped.

"You live off emotions!" He nodded and crossed his arms. She was clever and very smart. "However, that does not justify as to why you were placed inside this barrier and why you must abduct innocent villagers."

"That fact is the truth, dear one." He said with a smile. "Though, I do not feel guilt for living." She frowned deeper.

"What is it that you did to make him trap you in here?" His smile widened.

"You are getting into a riddle game with me?"

"I don't care what I have to do to get answers." Her voice was calm. Then he looked up at her to see emotions flitting, quick as lightning, across her eyes.

"You would..."

"Anything to get you to live long enough to get answers." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Is it youki that you use to trap the scents and aura inside the youkai?"

"In a way." He smirked. "It was actually a method used to give secret messages from one houshi to the next. The theory is ancient and I am not certain that many know of it." She raised a brow.

"How do you contain your own aura inside of them?"

"If you can contain your own, then you can contain another's." His gray eyes glittered. "I sense a deep love inside of you. I also sense an emptiness and concern." She nodded.

The love is from my taiji-ya side, being for Sesshoumaru and my friends. The emptiness is from Midoriko's missing piece of her soul. Lastly, the concern is from both of us for the fate of the jewel.

He stared at her as she pieced it all together.

"You must have three names then, correct?" The sharp glance that she sent him gave away the answer. "Yes, you have three." He smiled.

"You never answered my question."

"Dear one, you must give more to me than that." Sango growled at him.

"What more do you want from me?"

"One of your names." She tried to think of the one that he would not have heard.

"Sango." She stated emotionlessly. He flinched at the tone but quickly covered it up. He thought for a little while.

"Coral..." She stiffened and her heart began to race. "I am trapped here because of my other half."

"Other half?"

"My half youkai heritage from my mother. She was drawn to my father because he wore his emotions on his sleeve." Her eyes widened. "My brother hated having a hanyou brother."

"Your brother was...a houshi?"

"Yes." He looked down. "He was fully human." She gazed at him with a frown on her face for a moment before a small smile reached her lips. He looked up when she spoke.

"I know someone who is a hanyou. He is one of my very best friends and he has an older brother, too. His brother is a full youkai and despised him until they made amends." She sighed. "Up until this ordeal came around, they would look for any excuse to kill each other." He tilted his head before smiling.

"Thank you, Sango, for keeping me company before I died. No one has ever willingly sacrificed themselves to answer the riddle and come to speak with me." He brushed her cheek and she froze. His skin was chilled as if he had been sitting in a snow storm for too long. Then he traced her shards before a sound caught in his throat. "M-Maiden of Shikon..."

"H-Houshi-sama?" He shook his head and pulled his hand away.

"I am barely living this way. Once I die, every woman and child will be free from this prison. You must kill me, Sango." She stood up and nearly fell over Hiraikotsu.

"N-No..." She shook her head. "I-I can't." He stared at her with a frown on his face.

"But that is what you came to do. Please free me from this place. I am going mad sitting here like this; alone." He gestured to the book. "That is my journal. Take it with you. It has many things that will help you along the way." She hid her face in her bangs but he knew what was happening. And it made him feel terrible. "Sango."

"I...know..." She bent and picked up her bow and an arrow. Then she engaged the bow before looking into his gray eyes. He watched one lone tear fall and felt his chest tighten. "Good bye, Houshi-sama. May you rest in peace."

"Good bye, Sango. Thank you." She dislodged the bow and stared as he was pinned to the wall. He let a small smile pass his lips as his eyes closed forever. Tears ran down her cheeks and she fell to her knees.

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That was how they found her an hour later. Sesshoumaru went forward and bent down next to her.

"What happened?" His eyes went to the houshi. Miroku walked over to the body.

"He was a houshi..." A sob escaped the taiji-ya's lips when he said it. "Sango." She hugged herself and bent down so they couldn't see her face.

"He was...trapped in here for so long. He...asked me to free him." Inuyasha's mouth dropped open.

"He was hanyou." He looked at the girl on the ground. "What did he want with the women and children?"

"His brother locked him in here because he was ashamed to have a hanyou brother. He abducted them...so that he could feel their emotions. He lived off emotions." She explained. She stood up and went to the book before picking it up. Why had he given it to her?

Because I was the only one... That and the fact that it could fall into the wrong hands.

She turned to see the others staring at her.

"Can we go now, please?" Inuyasha nodded. "I think the women are out in the front." Sesshoumaru had Hiraikotsu strapped across his back. She gave him a weary smile of thanks. Kagome walked outside ahead of them and gave out a startled sound. They rushed out after her. "Kagome?" Sango stopped and stared at the small group of women and children. "Oh..." They all looked very well and taken care of, considering how long some of them had been there.

"Let's get going, okay?" Miroku asked softly; placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded.

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Hours later, Sango was isolated and alone, reading the houshi's journal. She found a lot of amazing facts in the pages of very neat writing. One passage caught her interest, especially:

Being locked in this dark place has shown me a side of the life I feared that really is not so retched and terrible. My life is not as meaningless as my brother told me it was. I am going to wait for someone to come and pass my test. This knowledge that I have gained is more important than even the Shikon no Tama... I have realized the secrets of darkness. I will wait until the Maiden of Shikon arrives. It seems like a long time now that I have seen four shards together in my dreams. Without that power, no one can use my knowledge.

The taiji-ya stopped. Her finger brushed over the three words.

'Maiden of Shikon' is what he whispered when he saw my shards... What is happening?

She bit her bottom lip lightly. Someone entered the room, causing her to look up.

"Sesshoumaru..." She whispered. He bent down next to her.

"What are you doing?"

"I am reading the houshi's journal." She snapped it shut and set it aside. "What did you need?" She asked softly. He leaned over and captured her lips in a short kiss.

"I wished to see you. You have been in here for a while." His amber eyes gazed at her in slight concern. "You are not upset, are you?" She shook her head.

"No." He gave her a hand up and she took it.

"The miko says it is time to eat."

XxXxX

The night of the new moon was upon them. Everyone had to be on their guard. Kagome was studying her school books and Sango was reading the houshi's journal.

"Oh! Kagome, listen to this..." The taiji-ya paused before clearing her throat. "It says: 'Thou, being the Seeker of Knowledge, must ultimately be pure of heart and soul to use any of these spells that I, the Seeker of the Maiden of Shikon, have thus gathered." Kagome frowned and looked up.

"Who is the Maiden of Shikon?" She asked curiously. Then she gasped. "You are, aren't you? He succeeded in his goal before he died, then, Sango."

"I suppose. But I still do not understand... How did he gather so much knowledge?"

"Maybe from those fake shards? Y'know, his blood had to have some power and it obviously could store things." The young girl was otherwise drawing a blank. Sango took the shards out.

"You may be right." There was silence as they both got back to their studies. "When are you thinking of returning?"

"I have an exam next week. Inuyasha isn't going to be happy with me but I have to go back. I need to pass in order to get into a good high school. My attendance record is horrendous but, if I get good grades, then maybe I could..." She trailed off when she noticed Miroku standing in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, Ladies." He said in a serious tone. "However, there are youkai heading this way." Sango had been too busy to notice but stood up immediately and grabbed her bow and arrows before also grabbing the Hiraikotsu. "Sesshoumaru is holding them off until we get there." She grabbed her things before running into a back room and changing. She ran out before Kagome even finished getting ready.

"Wait! Sango!"

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Ohh! Chapter 20, hmm? How is it? Please tell me what you think! I love this fic very much and it is so much fun to write!

Please review!