"How much do you know about the Shikon no Tama?" he asked as he placed a mug of fresh coffee in front of her. He didn't wait for her answer as he grabbed the milk from the fridge, and sugar from the counter. However, out of the corner of his eye, he did see her sit up in surprise.
"The jewel of four souls," she answered. "Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama and Sakimitama. It was created by the powerful priestess Midoriko and youkai during a battle. She grabbed the soul and power of the youkai and bound it within hers when she realized she couldn't defeat them, and thus, the Shikon no Tama, or sacred jewel, was formed."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You know your stuff."
She blushed. "Part of my research. Is that what Naraku wants?"
"He's heard legend of it and swears it's the real thing. Ten years ago he came after my wife, believing she was the protector of the jewel. Kikyou, my wife, had heard of the jewel, yet had never seen it. She wasn't sure if it even existed, despite the fact that the story was passed on from generation to generation in her family."
"Kikyou Hakimi, that's the Kikyou I'm assuming you're referring to, was a direct descent of Midoriko, or so I have been told. She would know the story, probably better than I. I had been trying to track her down for the last four years. She was killed, you say?"
He nearly crushed the coffee mug in his hand. "Yeah, Naraku tortured her while trying to locate the whereabouts of the jewel from her. He nabbed her off the street one day, while she was on her way home from work. I had offered to pick her up, as her car was in the shop, but she insisted that she was fine walking home. I believed her."
"And she never came home."
He set his mug on the table before he shattered it. "No, she never came home. I spent weeks searching for her, and finally one day she showed up on my doorstep, in pieces. Naraku had whipped her, cut her, tortured her in ways unimaginable, before raping her, and finally dismembering her. He never did get any information out of her. I didn't know that it was him who took her, but one day while I was still in uniform, I was chasing this man down the street, Naraku, and before firing a shot at me, he mentioned Kikyou's name and told me she was a good fuck," he spat out in disgust. "I knew then that he was the one who had murdered my wife, he tried to kill me, and since then I made it my goal to move through the ranks so I could work in the organized crime division, with the sole intent of bringing Naraku to his knees."
"That's horrible," Kagome was near tears at his story, and horrified at the same time that somebody could be so cruel.
"I told you this story for two reasons. One, you need to know what you're up against. I don't mind help with research, but you need to know the likes of Naraku. Second, you needed to hear Kikyou's story to understand why I can't let him catch you. I don't know why he wants you alive, but if he finds you, it means certain death for you, and probably far worse. Naraku was obsessed with Kikyou, as I learned afterward. He sent me numerous letters, notes, about how long she screamed, how she screamed for me, and how he had no use for her once he broke her spirit. I may not know you very well, but I don't want the same happening to you." Inuyasha leveled his gaze at Kagome. "You and Kikyou look so much alike you could be mistaken as sisters, but from what I've seen, you have more spirit and fight in you than she did. He'll thrive on that."
She visibly shuddered. "Good, I want you afraid," Yash confirmed. "It means you'll watch your back and be extra careful. Now, other than the footage you caught, tell me why Naraku would want you alive?"
"My research," she whispered. "I've been tracking the Shikon no Tama for years now. Freelance videography was just a way to pay the bills, and if I was lucky, I'd make a bit extra and that was set aside for my major project. I want to make documentaries, and the first one I was working on was on the legend of the Shikon no Tama."
"What kind of information do you have?"
"All sorts, the history, the various legends written throughout the years. I have digital copies of various parchments containing the story, or information. Any original copy of such is kept in a safe deposit at one of the banks, under my grandfather's name. He's the one who told me of the legend when I was younger, and I've been fascinated ever since."
"You mentioned Kikyou's name. How did you know she's a descendent of Midoriko?" He pulled out his tape recorder, intent on collecting all the information he could.
"Genealogy. It took me years to complete that particular line of descent, but I did. What I didn't know was that Kikyou had married; I hadn't gotten that far in my research, which is why I didn't know she died. I'm sure if I had researched a Kikyou Taisho, I'd probably have found a death certificate." He nodded to confirm her suspicion. "I've been working on a second genealogy line descending from Midoriko. I need people related to her in some way to tell the story. They may know more information. However, it's tedious work filtering through it all. I'm about half way through the second line."
"This is good, it may give us an edge over Naraku. If we can find out whom else he's targeting, we can get to them before he does. We may be able to set a trap, and prevent another death." He tapped his fingers against the kitchen table, and thought for a moment. "There's one hitch."
"And that is?" Kagome asked.
"Your data. I don't know how much of it we have access to. Naraku may have already stripped your computer and taken your hard drive."
"He's not going to find anything on that," she smiled as she tapped her the side of her camera bag. "I don't keep any of my data on my home PC, I don't trust people to not hack into it. Everything I've been working is saved on DVDs and they come with everywhere I go. Same with my footage. What I don't have on me is kept in a safe deposit bank."
For the first time since he met her, he smiled. "Smart, very smart. This makes things a bit easier. Tell me what you need in order to continue your research and I'll make sure we can get it."
"Just a laptop. And while I prefer a desktop over a laptop, a laptop will be easier for us to transport if need be."
"What about the footage. I'd like to get a chance to view some of what you have, see if it might give me a new perspective."
"If you make sure the laptop has a capture card in it, I could upload the video onto a DVD and you can watch it right in your living room."
He handed the list she had given him back to her. "Write down the system specs you want on the computer and I'll make sure it happens. Don't worry about cost, just make sure the computer has what you need." He waited until she handed the piece of paper back to him and glanced at it. "Are you going to need access to your safe deposit boxes?"
"Probably not," Kagome replied. "I have a digital copy of everything that's in them. I just didn't want to leave the originals lying around just anywhere. Why?" she questioned.
"I don't want you to make any unnecessary trips outside of the house. Anytime you go out, you go out with me, and you'll be going out under disguise. That's also on my list. I'm thinking blonde hair, and I'll find some colour contacts, and of course an outfit that Kagome Higurashi wouldn't be caught dead in. Any suggestions?"
She blushed as she grabbed the list and wrote a few items down. "I mostly dress casual in jeans and such. Professionally, if I'm doing something other than videography, I wear a business suit. What I don't do is go out very often at night, therefore I have nothing to wear if I was going to a club, so it's not something Naraku or his minions would expect me to dress in. My only suggestion is make it day time appropriate so I don't look like a total skank."
Inuyasha looked her up and down and grinned when he saw what she had written on the list. "I know the perfect thing."
She groaned as she saw him moving to the door. "And get some groceries. I'd actually like something a little more substantial than Oreo cookies for dinner."
"You're being pretty cheeky for somebody who's staying in somebody else's house for a while."
"I think I'm entitled to be as you've just uprooted me from my life and scared the shit out of me with Kikyou's story. Give me some semblance of normality please."
Inuyasha chuckled. It might actually be refreshing to share his house with a guest for a while. He was sure with Kagome around; things weren't about to get boring.
Author's Notes: I apologize for the delay, but I got serious block at a certain part, however, I managed to push past it tonight and this story is now 85 completed (although I haven't posted 85 of it yet). This should be done soon, I hope. It's not a very long story.