Miroku stared sadly at the remains of the once thriving village as he and the rest of his friends surveyed the damage.
"What a mess" Kagome replied with a frown, "What kind of a demon could have done something like this?"
"There were several of them" Sango said angrily as she kicked a piece of debris out of the way making Kilala take a step to the right, "These people didn't even have a chance."
"Well" Miroku replied with a sigh holding onto his staff tightly, "I guess we should just start burying them" he moved towards a shed where he found some shovels.
Meanwhile Inuyasha who was just as angry as the others were about the massacre, was sniffing along the edges of the village his nose becoming disgusted with every scent he picked up.
"Inuyasha!" Shippo called, "What are you doing?"
"Something. Something is very odd about the scents around the outside of the village," he said between sniffs.
"The outside?" Kagome replied as the others gathered around to listen.
"Yea. I mean there are scents of the demons who attacked the village all through it, but then there are very different scents outside of the village, but they were definitely made at the same time."
"Different scents?" Miroku said his eyebrows raised, "Like what? Can you tell what kind of demon?"
"That's just it" Inuyasha replied as he moved around his frown becoming even more distinct, "The scents of the inside of the village are of lower level demons, that leads me to believe that they were probably following orders. Therefore the scents of the demons on the outside are probably the ones who gave the orders."
"That's a good theory" the monk nodded, "However what kind of demons are they?"
"That's what I am trying to tell you. They are not full-fledged demons at all. There is positively a demon and a human scent together."
"Half demons did this?" Kagome said her eyes wide as Shippo jumped up onto her shoulder.
"Not just any half-demons" Inuyasha replied, "But demons like me."
"What do you mean like you Inuyasha?" Sango said, "You're the only half dog demon I know about or have ever seen."
"Doesn't mean I am the only one" Inuyasha retorted.
"You mean there are more of you?" Miroku asked.
"Yes" Inuyasha replied, "Although I have never seen them for myself."
"Then how do you know that they exist Inuyasha?" Shippo said curiously as he hopped back to the ground.
"When I was young," Inuyasha explained, "My mother used to tell me stories about my father. I asked her once if I was the only half human dog demon that had ever been born and she told me, no. That I was only maybe one out of many who had been born. It's not uncommon actually, Sesshomaru would never like to admit this" he added with a frown, "For a dog demon to fall for a human."
"But why?" Sango said confused, "If this is true, what would be their purpose for attacking this village?"
"That is something we are going to have to figure out after we bury all these people" Miroku suggested, "C'mon Inuyasha. We got work to do."
"Aw man" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "I'll say this again, I am no professional grave digger and I am certainly not getting paid for it."
"C'mon Inuyasha" Kagome replied, "Where is your sense of humanity? Besides um" she looked towards the hill that overlooked the village briefly, "It might be a good place to stop for the night."
"How do you figure?" he said in a scoffing tone.
"Just get going" she replied pushing him forward and then once more glancing at the hill.
"Kagome?" Shippo said looking at her with concern.
"Oh. Coming Shippo" she replied following him back into the village to assist Sango.
(Next Scene)
As it turned out burying the village did take all day and as they rested their weary bodies in one of the houses that was still standing the moon began to rise in the sky.
"Well we didn't get very far today" Miroku said lightheartedly, "But we did manage to do something."
"We wasted our time" Inuyasha replied angrily as he crossed his arms, "What are you talking about? We're supposed to be looking for Naraku remember?"
"It wasn't a waste of time Inuyasha" Sango argued back.
As they argued Kagome spoke soft enough for them to hear but not loud enough that they paid any attention.
"'I'm gonna go get some more wood" she said as they continued their argument.
She walked outside and saw that the moon had risen high in the sky. The wind was blowing softly across the hill as she moved up it slowly glancing back to see if the others had noticed that she had gone. She sighed in relief as she noticed that they didn't and continued to walk past a pair of trees till she came to the top of the hill where conveniently another log sat in the center. She sat down on the log, cold as it was and rubbed her hands together slightly. She looked all around the hill waiting patiently for the glowing figure of her father to appear once more. A few seconds later like a ghost he appeared once again, his smile apparent on his face as he arrived. She stood at once as he stopped.
"Dad" she replied.
"Kagome" he nodded still smiling.
"I wasn't sure that you were gonna come."
"I said I would didn't I?"
"Mhm."
"You look exhausted," he added as they both sat down on the log.
"It was kind of a rough day," she said with a nod.
"Yea well" he grinned sarcastically, "It always is in the Feudal Era. These are harder times for people. It's not as easy as it is for people back home in the future. Not that we don't have our worries too, it's just different."
"No kidding" she chuckled, "When I first came here I could not understand how they have never heard of baths before."
He laughed heartedly and then placed a hand onto her shoulder.
"You are my daughter all the way."
"I am glad to see you again" she nodded, "How much time do I have?"
"Have with what?"
"With you, tonight?"
"Oh" he shook his head, "Don't worry. More than enough. Because I have a lot to tell you and I should get started now."
"Okay" she nodded as he sighed heavily and leaned back slightly.
"When I first came to this world, to the Feudal Era" he replied correcting himself, "It was just a few days after my eighth birthday" he looked at her directly.
"You were eight years old when you first came here?" she said stunned her eyes wide with wonder.
"That's right. Now to help you understand why I could do these things and to also help you understand why you can as well I am going to let you in on the family secret."
"What family secret?"
"Kagome how old were you when your grandfather started telling you the story about the Sacred jewel?"
"The Jewel of Four Souls?"
"Mhm."
"Um, I guess I was about ten or eleven."
"Okay ten or eleven, and from your experience here I gather you know about the origin of the jewel right?"
"I learned that it was created by a priestess names Midoriko. That what's Sango told me when we visited the birthplace of the jewel."
"Well that story is true, and for many years the jewel remained in the hands of Midoriko's family."
"But I thought that it was captured by a demon and then the demon slayers in Sango's village recovered it in her grandfather's time, isn't that how it happened?"
"Yes, but that's not the whole story" he replied seriously, "Everything is true, but there are gaps missing. Gaps that I intend to fill and make you understand."
"Okay" she nodded.
"First of all Midoriko was a very gifted priestess. And the jewel was born because of her sacrifice but as I said before the jewel remained in her family for a very long time."
"I didn't know she had a family."
"Sure she did" he nodded, "She had a very well known family that exists in the future, now, today. A family that still runs the very shrine where she grew up" he looked at her directly as her eyes became even wider, "Yes" he nodded before she could ask the question, "I am speaking of course of the Higarashi family. Her full name was Midoriko Higarashi."
"I'm. We" Kagome tried to say but he nodded again.
"Yes, quite a shock huh? I was very surprised too when I found out. You see Kagome; the Jewel of Four Souls remained in the Higarashi family for thousands of years. Until one day, my eighth birthday I was given the family treasure. At the time I thought it was very hokey. It was just a necklace with a big jewel on the end of it. A pink one at that."
"The Sacred Jewel?"
"That's right. It was actually given to me by my grandfather whose grandfather had given it to him. Don't you see Kagome it was passed through our family for many years and didn't end up back in the Feudal Era until."
"I think I understand" she nodded, "You were the protector of the jewel?"
"A burden I didn't even know I had. Until that day, when the well, the Bone Eaters Well called to me. The jewel was glowing and I followed the call never knowing that it would change my life forever."
At this same moment as Kagome was letting all the information sink in Inuyasha was quietly strolling up the hill to find her. When he saw her he almost walked over but then felt the weird sensation of Aiku's presence.
"What's going on?" he thought as he watched Kagome carry on what looked like a conversation with herself, "What's she doing?"
"So then" she replied, "You were the one who was responsible for bringing the jewel back to this time period."
"Mhm. I came here and I was needless to say, well scared at first, I mean I was just a kid but then I was welcomed in the temple, the very same temple our family has owned for many years. I was treated like some sort of priest as well because I had the jewel and I discovered that all through the years that the jewel had been passed down it was given to someone who was always a gifted priest."
"Never a priestess?"
"No" he shook his head, "I found that weird given that the person who created the jewel in the first place was a very powerful priestess to begin with, but it wasn't until I came to the Feudal Era that I really started to appreciate the stories that my grandfather and father had been telling me for years."
"I know what you mean. Then what happened?"
"Well like I said I was treated practically like I was royalty. Everybody wanted to know me in the region. Lords and soldiers and get this even demons. You see Kagome back then, there was the possibility in some towns across this time period that accepted demons as friends. Actually that was how I made my friends here, which is something I will tell you about another time because I have a reason for not telling you at the moment."
"Okay" she nodded.
"But of course, just like you have your problems now, I had my problems then. The jewel after all is something that both human and demon alike want to possess. A lot of the time I was running for my life, but while I was here in the Feudal Era I learned things. I not only became quite, and I am not exaggerating here a gifted young priest, I learned how to defend myself with all kinds of weapons thanks to the help of my friends but I still had like you a mortal enemy who wanted nothing more then to see me dead."
Aiku was silent for a few moments as Inuyasha leaned in knowing now that Kagome wasn't crazily talking to herself for he could hear a young man's voice.
"And this is where my biggest regret comes in" Aiku sighed, "When I was thirteen, he first made his appearance. He was probably the most terrifying demon I had ever seen in my entire life. If you think you have seen some bad ones now they don't even come close. This guy was pure evil, there is just no other word for it and all he cared about was gaining the control and the power of the Sacred Jewel."
"Sounds like someone I know" Kagome replied bitterly.
"Just wait. Now little known fact about the jewel nowadays, but it actually in reality if it is in the possession of the rightful owner it will grant as many wishes as they would like. Not just once like it would be if someone stole it. Now I never used the jewel for that purpose even though I could have, except for once. And it turned out to be the worst mistake I had ever made" he lowered his head sadly.
"What happened?"
"I wanted to make things better, for my friends, for the people. I thought I was doing the right thing. The only wish I had was to somehow make him, the demon less powerful then he already was so that he could not hurt people as much as he could at the moment, so I wished for him to become a half demon."
"Well that's good right, I mean you cut his power in half? It made it more impossible for him to hurt people as much."
"You don't understand Kagome" Aiku said with a shake of his head, "This demon's true ability wasn't the power he possessed but his brain. He could think unlike any human or demon I had ever come across. He was so intelligent that a plan like his could last for years at a time. And they did. He bided his time. He made me believe that I had won and that he wouldn't come after the jewel. I should have known better. But I didn't" he sighed again, "Instead I grew up. Soon I was sixteen years old, almost graduated from high school and I went back and forth just like you do, and over time I got tired of being the hero and I fell in love" he grinned as she smiled knowing he was talking about her mother, "I was ready to return to my life in the future. I was ready to forget all my adventures and start a life with your mother. So I went back one last time just shy of my seventeenth birthday, said goodbye to my friends, and that was when the demon attacked."
"The evil one?"
"No, the one who took the Sacred Jewel. I was cut off guard. But my friends and I we trailed the demon till we arrived at the demon slayer's village where we found out that it had been found and that they had recovered it. Now at the time I did not tell them that I was the true owner. Instead I spoke to the head of the town who in this case was Sango's grandfather."
"Really?"
"Mhm. I told him who I was but then I asked a favor of him."
"What was that?"
"Back when I was a lot younger I used to travel around the different temples in the area and I came across one that caught my interest more than any. And it was actually a temple that trained young priestesses. One priestess in particular I took a keen interest in. She was very talented and very beautiful. A bit of a rebel though. Her name was Kikyo."
"Kikyo?" Kagome said her eyed becoming quite wide again.
"Kikyo?" Inuyasha's ears perked up at the sound of her name.
"You mean, Kikyo as in the one who was caretaker of the jewel for so many years Kikyo?"
"Yes" Aiku nodded, "She was a very gifted young lady. For some reason I never forgot about her or her skills so when I talked to the head of the demon slayer village."
"You convinced him to give Kikyo the jewel in order to protect it" she filled in.
"Only temporarily."
"Temporarily?"
"Kagome" he looked at her directly once more because he could see the confusion in her eyes, "When you first discovered that the jewel was inside of your body, what did you do? Did you try to find out why?"
"Well yes" Kagome nodded, "And I discovered from Kaede that I was some reincarnation of Kikyo that's why it was in my body."
"No" Aiku shook his head, "It was with you because it's yours."
"Huh? I don't understand."
"When I asked the leader to give the jewel to Kikyo he did and when she was traveling home with it I stopped her on the road. I told her who I really was and that I wanted her specifically to take care of the jewel until such time that the real owner would come back to claim it. Kikyo was only supposed to take care of the jewel to protect it with her sacred powers until such time that the real owner came back for it. She took her duty very seriously. Kagome I had every intention on returning sometime to the Feudal Era to reclaim my inheritance but."
"You died."
"Yes, therefore the person who would be the next in line to receive the jewel would actually be in fact your younger brother Sota, however, Kikyo died before the real owner returned, and instead of using the jewel to save her own life she died with it. The reason you have part of her soul Kagome is because she has been protecting the jewel even in death till the owner claims it. The jewel appeared in your body because it returned to the rightful owner. I believe that reason is because Sota was not meant to receive it. You're not her reincarnation Kagome. You're you. You've always been you."
"That. You mean the Sacred Jewel is mine?"
"Yes, you are its rightful owner. You are the descendant as I was of Midoriko Higarashi."
"Wow."
"That's why you can sense where the jewel shards are."
"But so can Kikyo" she began to protest.
"I gave her that power. I passed my power on to her so she could better protect the jewel."
"I see."
"I know this is a lot to take in Kagome but there is still one last thing I have to tell you before I go."
"What?"
"My mistake. After I left the Feudal Era and passed away, Kikyo and Inuyasha along with several other people were attacked."
"Yes, they died at the hands of a man who brought in demons to restore his burnt body. His name was Onigumo."
"Yes, who has now become an even more terrifying half-demon."
"What's that got to do with it?"
"Don't you see Angel? It's because of my wish that all that happened in the first place?"
"I don't understand" she shook her head as he stood up with another sigh.
"He bided his time" Aiku replied, "He waited many years till he could make his attack. He waited for a pathetic human existence like Onigumo to make his move. Kagome he was but one of the demons that Onigumo called to him in that cave."
"What?"
"He was the demon, or rather the half demon who orchestrated the other demons to do as he asked. I told you he is smart. Very smart. Once he had control of Onigumo and the other demons he had more power. He was still a half demon but he had enough power to kill Kikyo and to have her pin Inuyasha against the tree. And then he had enough power to take revenge against all his enemies. The only problem he didn't count on was the jewel disappearing with Kikyo so he waited again until such time it would return once again to the Feudal Era and you brought it here. Don't you see what I am trying to tell you Kagome?" he added as he knelt down and placed a hand on her knee, "That demon that I fought all those years ago and turned into a half demon, his name was Naraku."
Kagome stared stunned at her father's expression barely able to speak as by the tree Inuyasha's eyes became wide at the new information about his hated foe.
(To be continued..)
Authors Note: Hey guys! Not sure how many chapters I am going to get done this week but here's one for you anyway! Hope you enjoyed it!!
Next time on The Legend of Aiku Higarashi:
Chapter Five: A Past Revealed
Aiku reveals even more information to not only Kagome but to Inuyasha and the others as well. What do they think about the strange events of the past and Kagome's father's spirit? Find out next time!!!