Village Of Demon Slayers - Daytime
Kimiko is washing some clothes in a wooden tub with Yukina next to her watching. Shippo and Myoga are exploring the storeroom.
"So many kinds of weapons! All made from the bones and hides of demons!" Shippo exclaimed picking up a weapon almost as big as him.
"With these arms, the people of this village slew demons." Myoga tells Shippo.
"So there are strong humans, too." Shippo comments impressed.
"That's why demons despised this village." Myoga informed.
"And Naraku took advantage of that hatred…" Shippo said.
"Precisely, he set the demons upon this village." Myoga added.
...
In The Village
Miroku is burning something. Inuyasha runs to Miroku with a log slung over his shoulder.
"Damn it! What's going on anyway?! Hey, Miroku! Is that Sango still in bed?" Inuyasha cursed annoyed.
"I believe so." Miroku replied.
"Well, get her up! She knows Naraku's whereabouts!" Inuyasha demanded and throws the log into the fire. "She says she can't remember the castle where Naraku is staying! But if we keep looking, she's bound to remember!"
"It's probably Naraku's doing. He probably put a spell on her which made her forget everything…" Miroku thinks out loud.
"So what?! We've been waiting now for ten days! A wound like that…I'd be up and around in three days!" Inuyasha snapped frustrated.
"I would probably take to bed for a month. Besides, Sango suffers not only from physical injuries. She lost her entire family…the wound to her heart goes deep." Miroku reminded.
"A wounded heart, huh? The best cure for that is vengeance! And for that, we have to find the castle where Naraku is staying!" Inuyasha informed before getting excited. "Awright! I'll go and ask her!"
Miroku throws a log at Inuyasha.
"Owwee! What're you doing?!" Inuyasha asks.
"Let her be for a while. That's the best medicine." Miroku tells Inuyasha solemnly.
Kimiko walks into a hut with her medicine box with Yukina following after her. The bed in it is empty.
"Huh? She's gone." Kimiko states.
Sango sits at the burial mounds. Kirara sits next to her. She meows and Sango pats her. Kimiko runs to Sango with Yukina.
"Sango! Should you be up? You still need to rest." Kimiko questioned concerned.
"The graves…" Sango says trailing off.
"Huh?" Kimiko asked confused.
"You buried everyone and marked their graves." Sango said.
"Uh-huh… Umm… Uh…" Kimiko starts to say but unable to think of what to say before thinking. "I can't tell her to cheer up. In one short day, she became all alone in the world." Kimiko kneels next to Sango and tells her. "When your wound heals, won't you come with us? Inuyasha and Miroku are basically good people. What do you think?"
"You…had a fragment of the Sacred Jewel." Sango says.
"Huh?" Kimiko inquires before she looks at her necklace then at Yukina. "The fragments of the Sacred Jewel energizes the power of evil… It's far from its original shape."
"Naraku will come after it. All right, I'll come with you." Sango decided.
"You intend to avenge your family and village?" Kimiko asked already knowing the answer.
"Yukina seems to have chosen you to protect you must be special." Sango said instead of answering making Kimiko smile since she has grown fond of Yukina.
"Plus the Sacred Jewel was…" Sango starts to say getting up.
"Born in this region. We came to this village wanting to know more about that." Kimiko cuts Sango off and begins thinking. "Everyone who comes in contact with the Sacred Jewel fragment becomes unhappy. Just what is the Sacred Jewel?"
Kirara and Yukina look at Kimiko and mews.
"What is it, Kirara, Yukina?" Kimiko asked patting Kirara and Yukina.
"Call your friends. You helped bury the dead. I'll tell you…how the Sacred Jewel came to be." Sango tells Kimiko.
...
Everyone gathers in front of the cave. Inuyasha is piggybacking Sango.
"At last, we'll be able to enter this limestone cave where the Sacred Jewel came to be." Miroku said.
"So Sango, just how do we get rid of this barrier?" Inuyasha questioned curious.
"Precisely… We must say the age-old incantation and the barrier will be broken-" Myoga starts explaining on Sango's arm.
"There's no such incantation." Sango interrupted.
"Huh? Then how?!" Myoga exclaimed harsh.
"Myoga…" Inuyasha says frowning and blows Myoga away.
"This is a graveyard." Sango tells them.
"Graveyard?" Inuyasha asks.
"It's useless to just look for ways in. At first, we all thought that the demons had placed a curse to keep anyone from entering. But it seems that she is the one who keeps intruders out." Sango explained confusing everyone.
"She?" Miroku inquires.
"The person from whom the Sacred Jewel was born. Her sadness and regret keep people from entering. That's what I sense. It'll be easier to understand if we go in. Go ahead, enter." Sango answered.
"Ahh…" Inuyasha says and starts to walk, pauses and looks at Sango. "Are you sure?"
"Until now, countless people have become victims of the Sacred Jewel. You sympathize with them, so I'm sure she will allow you to enter." Sango informed.
The group walks through the barrier and stops.
"She's right. We got through." Shippo comments relived.
"We did it! Now we can meet this person who gave birth to the Sacred Jewel! Enter Myoga!" Myocardial exclaimed excited still outside but gets shocked by the barrier and thrown back. "W-why?!"
The group walks into deep end of the cave. Carcasses of demons are strewn around the area. Shippo shrieks. Everyone looks up in awe at a tall pile of bones in the middle.
"What IS this?!" Inuyasha questions.
"Demons, dragons and spiders all merged into one to wage a battle against one single human." Sango tells the group.
Inuyasha lets Sango down and Kimiko holds her. They sit down.
"There's a mummy inside the stalagmite!" Kimiko shouts.
A stone-like woman is seen in the stalagmite.
"The demon has her in its jaws… An ancient armor… A warrior of long ago?" Miroku theorized.
"It's a woman. A priestess from several centuries ago." Sango corrected Miroku.
"A priestess?" Kimiko inquired curious.
Inuyasha looks at it in silence.
"But look at the number of demons surrounding her. This priestess must have had immense spiritual power." Miroku comments.
"The court nobles controlled power at that time. Wars and famine dragged on and on and countless people perished. By devouring the dead and the near-dead, demons grew in number. Many priests and warriors set out to slay them but one priestess known as Midoriko was able to purify demons' souls and render them harmless. She ranked the strongest of them all." Sango explained.
"She was able to purify the souls and weaken the demons?" Kimiko said impressed.
"Yes… In this world, humans, animals, trees, and stones alike, all are created through four souls." Sango adds.
"Four souls? Shikon?" Kimiko thinks.
"I've come across it in my readings. The four souls are namely: Aramitama [荒], Nigimitama [和], Kushimitama [奇] and Sakimitama [幸]. Combined they become the soul of one person…housed inside the heart." Miroku tells the group what he knows.
A image of Miroku in prayer position.
"Aramitama governs courage [勇]." Miroku narrates as an image of Inuyasha floats in.
"Nigimitama governs friendship [親]." Miroku continued to narrate as an image of Sango floats in.
"Kushimitama governs wisdom [智]." Miroku's voice is still narrating as an image of Kimiko and Shippo float in.
"Sakimitama governs love [愛]." Miroku finishes.
"When the four souls work properly in harmony, it is called Naobi and the human heart is filled with good. Inuyasha, do you follow me?" Miroku lectures walking to the stalagmite before asking Inuyasha.
"W-what?!" Inuyasha stutters blushing.
"I don't understand at all!" Shippo shouts falling back with twirly eyes.
"When one does bad deeds, the four spirits energize evil and the human loses his way." Sango explained.
"In other words, with both humans and demons, the soul can turn good or bad." Miroku simplified.
"Midoriko must've been a formidable foe to the demons. She was able to purify the souls of demons and make them powerless." Sango comments impressed.
"She fought off an army of demons, but her powers didn't last. Just means that this Midoriko wasn't much of a priestess." Inuyasha said unimpressed.
"She hasn't lost the battle yet." Sango contradicts.
"Not yet? What's that…?" Kimiko thinks before she notices a hole in Midoriko's chest.
"After battling for seven days and seven nights, a demon got its fangs into Midoriko. With the last ounce of her energy, Midoriko seized the demon's soul, took it into her own soul, and forced it out of her body." Sango informed the group.
"The spot where she forced out her soul, is that the hole in her chest?" Miroku asked no one in particular.
"What she forced out was the Sacred Jewel. She wasn't able to purify the demon's soul. All she could manage was to seize the demon's soul. Although the flesh is gone, inside the Sacred Jewel, a battle still wages between the souls of Midoriko and the demons. That is why this fight isn't over yet." Sango further explained.
"Inside the Sacred Jewel…a war still rages on?" Kimiko questioned.
"Kah! In any case, it's all because Naraku came for the fragments that the story's become so complicated. I'm gonna take possession of the Sacred Jewel and use it to become a full-fledged demon!" Inuyasha states smug before he starts to glow in white. 'Then Midoriko can rest in peace! W-what…!"
Inuyasha body rises up.
"Inuyasha!" Kimiko shouts.
Inuyasha is thrown up, through the barrier, out of the cave and over the trees suddenly.
"What's going on?!" Inuyasha asks yelling
Back in the cave.
"People who think like that will be thrown out of the cave…like that." Miroku states.
"It's Midoriko's version of "sit!"" Shippo comments amused making Kimiko laugh.
...
Village - Sunset
Kimiko is taking down the laundry with Yukina at her feet watching. Shippo and Myoga have a conversation near Kimiko.
"It's gotten so late." Kimiko comments.
"A priestess inside a stalagmite? Tell me in detail, Shippo." Myoga requested intrigued.
"The priestess thrust the Sacred Jewel from her body…the demon had her in its jaws…and they are set in stone." Shippo tells Myoga.
"Hmm… Covered in stalagmite… Then as Sango mentioned, several hundred years have passed." Myoga thinks out loud.
...
Village - Night Time
Inuyasha sits on the roof on a hut, while the rest gather inside.
"I believe it has something to do with Midoriko…but the villagers worked as Slayers for generations. Over the centuries, the Sacred Jewel passed through the hands of various humans and demons. And it returned here, during my grandfather's time. It came out of a demon that he slew. But his life and many others were sacrificed in the fight." Sango theorized.
...
A image of the Sacred Jewel glowing in red is seen.
"The Sacred Jewel which was removed from the demon was horribly defiled and beyond the abilities of the Slayers to handle." Sango's voice is heard.
The Jewel appears in a pair of palms.
"So they put in Kikyo's care…" Miroku says trailing off.
A group of slayers are bowing to Kikyo in front of a shrine. Kikyo holds the Jewel in her hand, nods and clasps it to her chest.
...
"Kikyo… I heard of a priestess so named who was able to purify the Jewel." Sango said looking at Miroku.
"Naraku learned about her and killed her." Miroku tells Sango.
"When demons and evil men possess it, the Jewel becomes defiled. When a pure-hearted human possesses it, the Jewel becomes pure. It's very complicated." Sango states.
Kimiko is patting Shippo to sleep who is laying next to a sleeping Yukina, listening in to the conversation gravely.
"A Sacred Jewel has the power for good or evil. However, I've never heard of an instance where the Jewel has been used for good. As long as Naraku is after it, there will be more and more bloodshed. This karma of the Sacred Jewel. We must put an end to it." Miroku decided and looks up to the roof.
Inuyasha is lying on the roof.
"Inuyasha! Do not think about using the Sacred Jewel to become a great demon!" Miroku said loudly.
"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed before thinking determined. "First, I'll kill that Naraku! That's first and foremost."
...
A While Later
Everyone is sleeping with fresh sheets. Kirara sleeps next to Sango. She wakes and sniffs the air making Yukina wake up as well. Kirara and Yukina walking out of the hut and sniffing the air.
...
Inside The Cave
Yukina and Kirara run into the deep end with the Sacred Jewel necklace slung over Yukina's neck. They stops in front of the stalagmite. Kirara scratches herself and Myoga jumps out.
"Good! Kirara…my thanks. We made good time coming here. Midoriko… I, too, feel compassion for humans. However, when one lives long and sees so much death, one becomes accustomed to it." Myoga thanks the two two railed cats before telling Midoriko.
Myoga offers flowers and joss sticks in front of the cave.
"Forgive me. This afternoon, I was too eager in my pursuit of truth. Since you've allowed me past the barrier, I guess you understand." Myoga explained his behavior as Yukina and Kirara mew. "Oh, sorry, sorry! I will be finished here soon."
Myoga packs the Sacred Jewel fragment into his sack and slings it over his bag. He climbs up the stalagmite.
"Namu amida butsu… So many demons… A single priestess took on this many demons? Unbelievable. Many of the demons merged with others into huge ones. So that's the hole in the chest where the Sacred Jewel was thrust out. Judging from the size, it's possible that the Jewel was thrust out from that spot." Myoga prayed before thinking out loud.
The ground suddenly shakes.
"W-what…?!" Myoga asks confused.
The sack falls off Myoga's sack and the Sacred Jewel fragment flies out. Kirara and Yukina growl in apprehension at the shaking.
"I have this ominous feeling…" Myoga tells himself.
Red orbs of light suddenly appear.
"Damn! It's the power of the Sacred Jewel! Demons who were not completely subdued are trying to revive!" Myoga exclaimed.
The orbs fly towards Myoga and he shrieks. Kirara and Yukina growl and transform to their fierce form.
...
Village
Inuyasha and Miroku rush out.
"What was that tremor?!" Inuyasha questioned.
"Inuyasha! The Sacred Jewel and Yukina are gone!" Kimiko informed Inuyasha running out of the hut worried.
"Something's happening in Midoriko's cave!" Miroku realizes.
Miroku and Inuyasha run off.
"Old Myoga is missing and so is Yukina. Kimiko, where are they do you know?" Shippo inquired walking out.
"Maybe they went with Inuyasha?" " Kimiko said.
"No way! The old one wouldn't stick his nose into danger! Old Myoga, where are you?!" Shippo refused.
...
Inside the hut.
"Kirara?" Sango asked looking around the room.
...
In The Cav
Yukina and Kirara are trying hard to dodge the flying orbs of fire.
"Kirara! Yukiina! Run! Call Inuyasha and Miroku!" Myocardial orders on Yukina (Yukina runs to the stalagmite with Kirara. "What's the matter, Kirara, Yukina? I see! We must get the Jewel fragment back!" Myoga asked before realizing what was happening.
The dragon like demon that bit Midoriko wakes. Its long body coils around Kirara and Yukina and squeezes. Kirara and Yukina growl and faint.
"Kirara! Yukina!" Myoga yelled worried.
The head of the dragon growls.
"Demon spirits! They're transforming into fierce ones!" Myoga exclaimed.
Kirara and Yukina wake, growls and faints again.
"Hang on, Kirara! Yukina!" Myoga encourages and starts thinking. "Just won't do at all!"
The dragon head move towards Myoga, who looks on in apprehension. Suddenly a light glow appears. The spirit of Midoriko wakes from her stone body.
"T-that's…!" Myoga said amazed.
Midoriko leaps into the air with a sword in her hand and slays the dragon. A loud explosion is heard. Yukina and Kirara land.
"Midoriko…" Myoga says in awe looking up.
Midoriko lands slowly. She gradually fades to Inuyasha. Kirara, Yukina and Inuyasha land. Miroku runs past Inuyasha.
"Hurry, Miroku!" Inuyasha shouts.
"Found it! I cannot linger here with the Jewel fragment! I'm going out of the cave!" Miroku exclaimed picking up the necklace and then runs runs out.
"Go!" Inuyasha ordered as he sheathes Tetsusaiga. "Now then…" Inuyasha examines Kirara and Yukina as he digs through Yukina's fur. "I know of only one creature who would do something so stupid…"
Inuyasha finds Myoga among the fur, cowering.
"Oh, Master Inuyasha!" Myoga says waving his hands frantically and wipes his sweat. "Oh dear… Thank goodness nothing happened."
"Cut it out, will ya! Why'd you bring the Jewel fragment into a place like this?!" Inuyasha demanded to know.
"Well, Kirara and Yukina wanted to…look inside the cave again…" Myoga lied.
Kirara and Yukina turn around and growl.
"Lying again?!" Inuyasha shouts annoyed.
"Err…no… The souls which still lingered reacted to the light from the Sacred Jewel and tried to revive. I kind of expected it." Myoga explains.
"How can you brush it off so lightly when you almost died? You're so smooth with your talk!" Inuyasha retorts before he scoffs. "I shouldn't have saved you."
"W-what? When was I saved by you?" Myoga asked confused.
"Wake up! And don't act dumb!" Inuyasha snapped and grabs Myoga and shakes him violently.
"I'm not acting dumb! I was saved by Priestess Midoriko!" Myoga defended himself.
"You can sleep talk in your sleep!" Inuyasha shouts and throws Myoga violently on the ground and walks out.
Kirara and Yukina walk to the stalagmite and look at Midoriko. They settle down to sleep under her.
...
A Feild
Midoriko in a field under a wide cloudy sky.
"Old Myoga who investigated the story of the Sacred Jewel feels it was impossible for one priestess to battle so many demons, no matter how strong her spiritual power." Kimiko's voice is heard.
Two two-tailed cats exactly like Kirara and Yukina in their fierce form fades in next to her.
"Perhaps, Midoriko had a brilliant vassal or two at her side…" Kimiko's voice says.
The three walk away.