Shards of Life

Episode 3

Myouga's Intervention

Kagome could still feel a little youki of the demon whose spirit the shrine inhabited.

"Could this be the shrine of the youkai the old man was talking about? But that's impossible…. What's going on here?"

"Kagome, I don't like this place. Lets get out of here."

"Yeah, good idea." She climbed onto his back once more and they flew off.

The passed an innumerable span of trees before Kagome began to worry.

"Inuyasha are you sure you know where you're going?" Asked Kagome.

"I'm positive!"

"We should be been there by now, but I don't see the inn any where." He thought.

"You're sure you know where it is?"

"Of course I know where it is, it's just not where I remember it being!" He hesitated "I should've at least been able to sniff it out."

"It's almost like it disappeared."

Kagome gasped and scanned the ground below. There was nothing, no sign of the inn anywhere. Even the tiny dirt path which led from the village to the inn was gone. Now there was nothing but dense forest.

Kagome looked ahead past the forest, dreading what they would find at the village.

Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara had already arrived by the time they got there. The shock on their faces realized Kagome's fears. The village and all its inhabitants were slowly grow fainter. The villagers seemed completely oblivious to what was happening and continued to go about their evening business.

Kagome spotted Matsuto heading toward a house just a few feet away from them. There was a woman standing in the doorway, who looked like his mother. She ran towards him but her hand grabbed nothing but air as she reached out to him.

"Matsuto kun…" she whispered

She watched as he walked into the house and it slowly faded into the darkness.

"The village is disappearing again just like it did last night." Said Miroku

"I smell youkai. It's coming form over there." He ran ahead of them jumping on and over the rooftops as he cascaded through the air. Kagome and Shippou sat saddled on his back while Sango and Miroku flew on Kirara's. They passed through the village watching as its people continued grow paler and fainter. By the time Inuyasha slowed down the village had completely vanished.

Directly in front of them was a huge ogre whose massive body towered over the tiny village. His skin looked made of worn stone, tinged with shades of red and purple similar to the color of dried blood. He moved in a lopsided awkward manner as though he were constantly weighted down.

Inuyasha stared up at him with his fangs bared and his eyes glowing knowing of the long awaited battle.

"Are you the one who's doing this the villagers?" Inuyasha yelled to him.

The youkai looked down at him with squinted eyes and the most insulted look crossed his face.

"Who do you think you are hanyou?! I am the great Raiujin! No one speaks to me that way!"

Inuyasha smirked in arrogance. "I don't care who you are. If you don't return this village to normal-" He voice became low and wicked grin crossed his face. "I'm going to slice off your head."

Inuyasha jumped into the air with Tessusaiga slicing through the wind at an unstoppable speed. Raiujin caught the blade just one hand before it slammed into his body. His massive hand flipped Inuyasha back up, flinging him through the air in a series of back flips before he landed. A trickle of blood splashed on the ground from the wound on Raiujin's hand where Tessusaiga had cut him.

He stared at the wound as if it belonged on someone else's hand.

Inuyasha snarled. "Does even he know I just cut him?"

Not a moment later he slammed the wounded hand down upon them. They narrowly escaped being crushed by the ogre's colossal extremities. Sango jumped on Kirara at the last minute grabbing Miroku by his kesa and lifting him up while Shippou was hauled up by his tail. Kirara flew close to Raiujin's head swerving up and down trying to avoid being hit by his any part of him. Sango aimed Hiraikotsu at him missing only by inches. It doubled back though and sliced through the side of his body. She caught it again with ease but the wound on his side remained unnoticed.

"Damn. What's the matter with him? Doesn't he realize he's losing?" Asked Sango

Raiujin howled with laughter as Inuyasha continued to attack him with Tessusaiga.

"Enough of this! I shall now call forth the spirits of the fallen youkai. Go forth and destroy them!" A barrage of ghost youkai flew from within his body, their colors ranging from stark white to completely transparent. Physical attacks against spirit youkai were useless as they had no effect.

"Sango take me closer!" Miroku shouted. Sango commanded Kirara to fly up towards Raiujin's head and body. She and Kirara managed to fight through the hordes of ghost youkai just long enough to allow Miroku time to channel his houriki through to the o-fuda.

"He seems to be impervious to pain but what about bondage". Thought Miroku. The energy crackled and sparked like tiny bolts of lightning as they landed in random spots on the youkai's head. Flashes of blue energy erupted from the tiny strips of paper causing him howl in pain. In one quick movement he tore them off ripping a large piece of his flesh along with it. The blood was flowed freely down his face and body dripping to the ground forming large puddles of crimson water.

"He…he tore them off." Sango exclaimed

"Yes but it's just as I suspected." She looked at him strangely.

"Look down there, the youkai are beginning to disappear." It was true. The youkai Raiujin had called from his body were undeniably evaporating away or beginning to weaken.

"This youkai is nothing more than a ghostly spirit." He drew more o-fuda readying himself in case Raiujin attempted to attack him again.

"You bastard monk!" Raiujin bounded up and lunged towards them narrowly missing Kirara but leaving him open and exposed to any attack.

Miroku saw his upper hand and took his advantage throwing more o-fuda at him. One landed on his leg, the other on his stomach and the last two on his arms, pinning him down with pain.

Raiujin howled in agony once more as the o-fuda's energy relieved him of his strength. He struggled to rise from their holy grip but only ended up causing himself more pain as they held him still.

"Now are you going to cooperate or do we have to do this again." He held more up to emphasize his point. Something still puzzled him though. The houriki he channeled through the o-fuda should have been more than enough to kill the youkai and it took four just to pin him down.

"No please no more I'll do whatever you say!"

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou stood off to the side staring in alarm at the now completely submissive Raiujin.

"What a weakling." He stated dryly.

"One minute he's raving on about how great he is and the next he's begging for mercy." Added Kagome

"You said it." Shippou said.

Raiujin lay on the pinned to the ground as the o-fuda's spiritual energy held him passive. Miroku and dismounted Kirara and walked over to him, Inuyasha and Kagome followed them. Raiujin's eyes grew wide with fear as Miroku approached him but Inuyasha lunged foreword ahead of him landed right in front of Miroku.

"Now, bring back those villagers or else." He held Tessusaiga erect and poised to strike. Raiujin seemed hesitant for a moment and looked like he was thinking intently on whether or not to answer.

"Hey!" Still Raiujin sat perfectly still with the exceptions of a few twitches around his face. He was staring at them but yet looking straight through them. As though he were concentrating on some far away presence.

Just as Inuyasha was about to strike at him again Raiujin finally seemed decide. "Wait, wait I'll tell you everything!" He started speaking in a frantic hurried voice. "I was once part of part of the youkai called Naraku. He threw me out of his body and I was later slain by a rounin. One day I woke up to find I had been revived by another youkai. He told that he needed my powers of controlling human souls."

"Human souls? Was that all Matsuto-kun was? A soul?"

Kagome let out a small gasp, Inuyasha turned around to find her staring at the ground thinking closely.

"He promised me that as long as I kept the souls of the humans alive and digging around this village then he would continue to restore my life and grant me immense power."

"Kagome" Inuyasha noticed her pensive stare and wondered what was troubling her until Raiujin began speaking again.

"He did not tell me what his purposes were, only that he needed the villagers to continue mining and to let him know if anything unusual was found."

"Unusual? Like what?"

"He-"Raiujin screamed as a blinding blue light suddenly washed through temporarily blinding them. Inuyasha seized Kagome and Shippou shielding them from the surge of power. When they looked up nothing remained of Raiujin but scorch marks and in his place stood Sesshoumaru holding Toukijin.

"So it was indeed one of his incarnations." Sesshoumaru thought to himself.

Inuyasha looked irate and indignant as he saw the figure standing before him

"Well if it ain't my high and mighty brother Sesshoumaru." Sesshoumaru sheathed Toukijin ignoring Inuyasha completely.

"You know I wasn't done with him yet." Inuyasha called to Sesshoumaru from a distance who was still ignoring him.

"Hey I'm talking to you!"

"Uh…that's not a very smart thing to do is it?" Inquired Shippou. They stood away observing the fight from the side

"No probably not." Kagome responded. They all sighed in pity for Inuyasha's foolishness.

"Sesshoumaru-" He was quickly cut off by a blast from Sesshoumaru's Toukijin.

"Do not attempt to pick a fight with me today Inuyasha. I'm not a particularly merciful mood."

Inuyasha lay on the ground barley missing the attack but slightly stunned by it's after effects.

"And when are you ever?" He said as he struggled to get up using Tessusaiga as a balance. Just as he managed to stand Sesshoumaru's poison whip came flinging at him. He managed to block of most of the attacks with the Fire Rat and quickly aimed at Sesshoumaru from the side with Tessusaiga. Sesshoumaru easily parried his attack and slashed at him with his poison claws. Inuyasha just barely missed being hit and he continued dodging several more slashes from Toukijin, all the while trying to ignore Sesshoumaru's taunts.

"What's the matter Inuyasha? A few moments ago you so were eager fight me and here you are running away." Inuyasha's temper reached had reached its breaking point.

"Shut UP!" Inuyasha put all his strength into one flying punch but it knocked him off balance long enough to give Sesshoumaru the upper hand (not that he didn't already have it before). Sesshoumaru punched Inuyasha in the back sending him flying through the air and skidding a little ways along the ground.

"Consider yourself grateful Inuyasha, for I don't have time to kill you today." With that he sheathed Toukijin and walked away.

Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kagome all ran over to where Inuyasha lay/sat. He managed to sit up despite the growing pain in his back. There was no serious wound though, since Sesshoumaru only punched him. Kagome knelt beside Inuyasha when she noticed his ears twitching. He looked up to see a tiny speck falling from the sky, which as it came closer turned out to be Myouga. He landed on top of Kagome's head and then rolled onto her shoulder looking a little dazed and green in the face.

"Myouga? How long have you been here?" Inuyasha asked.

"Uh…" They all looked up to see a crow circling around the field that they apparently hadn't noticed before.

"Not long." Myouga sounded doubtful. He was rewarded with cynical looks.

But he took on a more serious tone "Inuyasha sama I came here to warn you of a youkai that has been resurrecting other youkai in order to do his bidding, at least that's what I suppose he wants. I believe there is one all ready lurking about. Now what was his name…"

"Tsch, well that's a helpful bit of information. I already fought Raiujin. Sesshoumaru just came here and killed him off for me."

"Tsk tsk tsk. Inuyasha sama it appears you've gotten slack in your travels, I thought surely you would have been able to defeat a youkai like Raiujin on your own."

Inuyasha's eyes grew to the size of tennis balls. "It's not like I asked for his help! I could have easily beaten that youkai on my own."

Myouga jumped onto Kagome's shoulder to avoid being hit.

"Well in that case I shall warn you of his master." They waited for him to finish speaking. He cleared his throat several times before finally starting though.

"Ah well…I don't know his name yet but I do know he is very powerful and ruthless. You should be wary Inuyasha." Inuyasha just looked uninterested.

"What's with everybody giving me all these warnings all of a sudden." He thought back to what Kikyou had told him earlier and received several uncomprehending looks from everyone.

"Uh, never mind." Myouga stood for a few more moments before announcing that he had to be on his way. He took of on the crow that he came on and wished them good luck before he was off. They stared at him as he flew off for a while before Inuyasha insisted that they continued moving. Kagome looked up at the rising red sun and before she knew it they were off again.

"Naomi now is the time. Go forth and seek them out." The chilling voice caressed her skin compelling her ways even she could not comprehend.

"Yes master," She answered her voice slightly seductive. "I will not fail you."

The sun scaled the sky and the clouds ascending to the peak of the distant horizon. The first rays of light touched the earth's surface enveloping it in its warm embrace as its tip reached the crest of the skies edge. Upon reaching the top it beamed to itself, for now the long nights journey through the darkness and peril was finally over.

Now that their nightlong adventure was over Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kagome decided to take a short detour in their travels. They now walked along the edge of a steep rocky slope. Now that they had passed through the thick luscious terrain of the forest they began to enter a more rocky and mountainous landscape. Forming a line along the steep mountain slope was the only way to cross the path along the mountain without the dangers of falling off. Their days on the mountain had not gone well though. Strange unexplainable things continuously went wrong. Miroku seemed to be the brunt of these misfortunes and was either the target or always around when something bad happened. Sango suggested it was because of the his karma but Miroku insisted, somewhat skeptically, that it was probably nothing but a stroke of bad luck and the shichifukujin merely had their backs turned to them.

Now that they were on their way again they were taking care to be extra careful considering their 'luck' as Miroku puts it. Inuyasha was in the lead with Sango and Miroku in the middle and Kagome trailing the back. She thought perhaps if she continued to tell her self not to look down then her she wouldn't be tempted to peer over the mountainside. No such luck though and one look was all took before she felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. A brief loss of concentration caused her loose her footing and she slipped on a particularly loose rock making the others underneath it collapse and she fell sliding off the mountainside. Her fall was broken by a large youkai that had the shape of a man but was covered in feathers and had a huge beak protruding out of its face. It struggled to rid itself of the extra package on it's back by flailing and thrashing around. Kagome screamed as she once again began plunging towards the bottom of the mountain. Just as Inuyasha heard her the inside of the mountain exploded and dozens of large feathered creatures began flying out in swarms knocking them all off the mountain. Inuyasha grabbed onto a stray branch on the cliff side and held on. He fought off the creatures for as long as he could but they ambushed him forcing him to let go of the mountain and fall. Sango and Miroku were struggling just as well. The creatures were all heavily armored carrying spears and other weapons. They called to each other in a series of high-pitched shrieks and other birdlike noises making concentrating a challenge. But the group could also hear human noises too. It seemed they were speaking to their comrades in their own language and communicating to the rest of them in their minds.

"Vandals!"

"Disgusting humans!"

"Corrupted Monk!"

"How dare you halfling intrude on our territory!"

Thoughts of the youkai invaded the minds of Inuyasha and his friends making it difficult to fight because they weren't able to drown out their taunting. Kagome all the while continued to fall down the mountainside, occasionally being caught by one of the creatures but then instantly being thrown off again. Inuyasha fought desperately to free himself of them but they continued to keep him from rescuing her, constantly pinning him down and throwing more insults.

"What's wrong little hanyou? Can't get to your woman?"

In a burst of strength Inuyasha managed to free himself of their grasp just long enough to try and find Kagome. But by the time he had gotten loose her screams had already stopped.

Kagome found herself experiencing strange sensation. She was falling but in the wrong direction because the wind was flying past her the opposite way. It occurred to her that she was not in fact falling but being lifted up. She opened her eye's to see a figure whom at first she assumed to be Inuyasha. She soon discovered the flowing white, almost silver hair belonged to someone else and she realized that she was being saved by another youkai.

End of Episode 3

Episode 4

Illusionary Perception

Kagome has been rescued by another mysterious youkai and while he seems kind enough they are unsure of what secrets he may hold. But when the youkai makes an astounding request from them there are even more reluctant to lend out so much of their trust. And how far into the truth does the youkai's story actually go?