Bffimagine: Well, I've actually gotten past three chapters. Not bad…
Fifty-three shards. They'd collected fifty-three shards. Why, then, did the Kazaana open again?
"Miroku!" Inuyasha had begun to feel tears slide smoothly over his cheeks.
Eyes clenched shut and fists tight; Miroku was tossing and turning in his feverish daze. His body was rigid and he was moving fervently against Inuyasha.
Moans of pain passed through Miroku's lips, and a cold sweat filmed thinly over Miroku's flushed skin. The pale flesh was heated with blood.
"I-Inu-yasha…" Miroku's long, thin fingers grasped Inuyasha's fire-rat kimono.
'There's something seriously wrong. Before, when Miroku's Kazaana widened, it never…'
Blood tricked in elegant intertwining rivulets, contrasting violently against Miroku's pale skin. The vivid crimson soaked into the soft red cloth of Inuyasha's shirt.
'Bled.'
Grabbing Miroku's hand, Inuyasha examined it more carefully.
'Previously, the Kazaana was only widening. He was born with it, right?'
Cautiously turning the gloved hand over, he looked over the now blood-soaked cloth.
'But now it has to bore itself into his hand all over again.'
"INUYASHA!" Sango yelled.
Inuyasha's head snapped up.
"Why is Miroku bleeding? What's going on?" Kagome had stopped pedaling and Kirara landed evenly.
"The Kazaana's back."
Silence.
"Does that mean—"
"We have a time limit. If we don't complete Miroku's heart by the new moon… we'll have a second, but much better, Shikon no Tama on our hands." Inuyasha carefully stroked Miroku's cheek it the back of his hand. 'Not only that… Miroku will die before I become human twice.'
And so a new race began—the race against time. During the first few days, the Inu-gumi had killed sixty-seven you-kai. However, Kagome's senses had led them on a wild goose chase most of the time. Only twenty-two of the you-kai had shards of the Kokoro no Tama, and the heart-light was beginning to dim.
"The shards are beginning to lose their vigor," Inuyasha whispered softly, "Miroku's dying."
But the more shards they gained, the lower Miroku's fever dropped. He even awoke once or twice, uttered something incoherent and fell into a troubled slumber once again.
Yet the full Shikon no Tama helped somewhat; if it couldn't bring the shards of Miroku's heart to them, it brought them (by an extremely forceful pull) to the you-kai that possessed the shard.
It seemed Inuyasha had a clot of resentment in his blood as he killed each you-kai. The shards he ripped from demon flesh throbbed with desire to return to where the came…
Just as they returned, however, Miroku's Kazaana grew.
"This is getting worse," Sango muttered, biting her lip, "Even though Miroku's health seems to increase, his Kazaana consumes more and more of him."
A fortnight had passed. In total, there were now one hundred thirty-eight shards, and Miroku had finally awoken.
Once the violet eyes fluttered open, Inuyasha had embraced Miroku tightly, and caressed his face with the longing look of a lost lover.
Contrary to Miroku's happiness, his agony pained him worse than anything in the world.
Miroku's sense had proved much sharper than Kagome's: he could sense you-kai, auras and shards to their exact pinpoint location and for more that twenty miles off.
With this help, they were able to gather the rest of the shards. Finally, Miroku's pain had subsided to a dull ache.
"One shard."
All eyes turned to look at Miroku.
Confused looks were exchanged amongst the group.
"Nani? What do you mean koishi?" Inuyasha stood and walked over to Miroku.
"One shard is missing. I can feel it is close… but there is no location."
"That doesn't mean there is no hope, koi," Inuyasha murmured gently, sitting down behind Miroku and taking him into his arms.
"I can't… I can't sense the last shard at a location. It's almost as if it just exists, yet it exists in nowhere…" Miroku sighed in discontent.
"Don't worry about it Miroku. With a hundred and ninety-nine shards, the last one should almost come… automatically." Inuyasha wrapped his arms tighter around Miroku and pressed his cheek to Miroku's head.
Sango and Kagome yawned. There was a settling comfort within the band of humans and you-kai alike, and both girls stretched and lay down, falling asleep almost immediately.
Unfortunately, sleep did not come as simply to Inuyasha and Miroku.
Miroku was shifting uneasily in Inuyasha's arms, and Inuyasha's ears twitched, the tree supporting them both casting soft shadows on their faces. Though the moonlight was unwavering and steady, the light itself faltered.
"I love you Miroku, ashiteru."
"I love you Inuyasha."
An unbroken quiet blanketed the darkness of the night. Stars smiled brightly on the two lovers as they slept against the tree.
The next morning Miroku was first to wake. Shippo was snoring softly down below the tree branch he and Inuyasha were sleeping on, and Kagome was snoring a little bit louder than him, but with an unearthly rhythm that was set in time of the very soul of the air around them.
Sango was sleeping quietly in the far corner of the camp, motionless features set gracefully on her face.
Sunlight shone from overhead, but the tree's foliage shielded Miroku's eyes. It was nice to have a serene sense of rest and placidity after such long times of worry and pain.
Feeling thirsty, Miroku gently slid out of Inuyasha's arms.
Inuyasha. The hanyo was sleeping peacefully, back against the tree. Long, white-silver hair flowed in tangles through the tree bark, and soft, fuzzy ears perched alert atop his head.
Smiling almost listlessly, Miroku climbed down the tree with the nimble swiftness of a squirrel and the silent footfalls of a tiger stalking its prey.
Quietly slipping away, Miroku found himself at a clear, crystalline pond. He saw the clean rocks at the bottom of the water, coloured in pastel shades of green, blue, pink and yellow. Fine, shiny white stones also sparkled up at him, and Miroku carefully dipped his fingertips into the cool water.
Abundance of small animals and wild plants flourished around this small pond. As he drank the water, he watched as little rabbits played in the long grass, jumping around each other and chasing their tails.
"Almost makes you want to laugh, huh Miroku?" Inuyasha walked up behind Miroku and placed an admiring hand on his shoulder.
Startled, Miroku whipped around and came face to face with Inuyasha.
Inuyasha's fingers brushed across Miroku's face, caressing the smooth, soft skin that he found so irresistible. The pale membrane was pulled taut but perfectly over bone and flesh, and nothing marred Miroku's perfect face.
"Beautiful…" Inuyasha breathed.
Miroku chuckled softly.
"You're beautiful yourself, Inuyasha," he whispered, hugging Inuyasha.
"Not as beautiful as you." Inuyasha answered as he hugged Miroku back.
A sharp, gagging pain seized Miroku's throat. Invisible hands strangled him, and he gasped, struggling for breath.
"Miroku? What's happening?" Inuyasha caught Miroku as he collapsed.
"If I can't have his heart, no one will."
'I know that voice,' Inuyasha thought, 'Only one you-kai in the world could drawl like that…'
"NARAKU!"
The familiar form of Naraku became solid before Inuyasha's eyes.
"Why Inuyasha, what would you care for a mere human? That's all he is, if you think about it thoroughly." Naraku's smirk came to play on his lips.
"Miroku isn't just a human. And even if he was, doesn't that make you all the more pathetic, Naraku? You're hunting so hard for the last shard of his heart." Inuyasha smirked as well; two could play at that game.
Naraku's smirk disappeared and was replaced with an angry, hostile snarl.
"His heart—the Kokoro no Tama—has nothing to do with the human. It's just a phenomenon that happens every so often because the stars of you-kai lords, high mikos and the most powerful sorcerers are all surrounding the star of a you-kai or human. This seems to give them incredible powers and a very interesting heart… but this only occurs once every millennia." Naraku seemed satisfied with his explanation.
"If that's what you think is right, then you're more clueless than I thought!" Inuyasha began to laugh.
"Miroku has shown me his star," Inuyasha continued, swallowing as much of his laughter as possible, "And it isn't surrounded by any such you-kai lords, nor mikos or sorcerers. To put it simply, the only stars around his are those of his family, exactly the way normal humans have it. But Miroku is undoubtedly special; otherwise his heart would not have become crystal like it did.
"His star isn't different because of what it's surrounded by, but what it looks like.
"Have you ever seen Miroku's star? It's brighter, much brighter than all the others in the sky. Furthermore, it changes colour from purple to dark navy to deep crimson, and once every new moon it's golden, as bright as the sun will ever be."
Naraku's eyes had gone wide.
"Impossible," he breathed, "That is not only that monks star then…"
White ears perked up on Inuyasha's head.
"Then you are the one in the dark, Inuyasha, for that monk's star is SHARED. Do you know whom he shares it with?"
"Who?"
Laughing maliciously, Naraku whispered the answer.
"You, Inuyasha. That is your star as well."
"No one can SHARE a star, Naraku. And my star is ordinary, surrounded by my family's stars." Inuyasha was becoming confused.
"You may think so, but in fact, both yours and Miroku's stars are the same. You thought your father's star was yours, but if you look closely, Miroku's family was never that big. Your family and his share a section of the night sky."
"But… my star can't be the same as Miroku's. When two beings share a star they…" Inuyasha trailed off.
"They die in each other's arms."
bffimagine: How do you think Miroku's going to get that last shard? What is Naraku trying to say?
Inny: We don't know! You're the writer!
Bffimagine: Oh right… well, you all know the drill by now. 3 reviewsUPDATE!