01-08-10: Happy belated new year!!!! Sorry this chapter would have been out earlier but I do like waiting for reviews. If I get reviews I'll keep writing non-stop but if I don't, I'll wait a couple of days to see if I'll get any later.. Obviously I hadn't gotten any last time.. So if you want the story to get updated sooner make sure you review!! Not saying you have to, but the reviews help me make this story a lot more enjoyable for you, my readers, and even for myself.

Okay now for the chapter. I decided to get rid of the puppets.. they seemed kind of stupid. I think, at least this early in the story, Naraku should still have enough confidence in his own powers where he doesn't need to hide behind a fake version of himself. What kind of villain is THAT much of a coward? So anyways, the jewel shard status is as followed.. they have none.

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You're Kinda, Sorta, Basically, Pretty Much, Always On My Mind.

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I Don't Own Inuyasha

"Talking"

43. History

"Dammit all!" Inuyasha cursed, throwing down a blackened piece of wood on top of a slowly growing pile. I wasn't quite sure if this was the firewood pile or if he was collecting all the pieces of a broken hut in hopes of fixing it, but that really wasn't the point right now. I sat on a stone foundation beside it and the aggravated boy looked from me to Miroku, obviously searching for some kind of agreement.

"What's with that 'Sango' girl!?" He continued, ignoring our lack of interest. "She couldn't even remember the face of that suspicious 'young master' at the castle!"

"Stop jabbering and tidy up." Miroku responded with his back turned to us.

We were back at the Taijiya's village. Sango was now in our care. We'd been treating her wounds for the past ten days, but since she was in such a weak state, mentally as well as physically, she couldn't recall the face of the master at the castle where she was supposed to have returned.. or even the way back. I didn't blame her. I knew what it was like to be left all alone. Her family, village, her whole life had just been ripped from her in just a few short days. Just by living through the horrible wounds that had been inflected upon her, she had already passed my expectations.

"This is Naraku we're talking about." The monk spoke up again. I glanced at his back then to Inuyasha. He looked more aggravated at the name of our nemesis. "Until all of his crimes are detected, unless you have any other ideas, we can't go back, can we? Besides.. even if she did remember she still has those wounds. For the moment she shouldn't be moving about."

Inuyasha gave an irritated grunt and swiftly crouched down beside the other man. "Whatever, but you're not going to let her stay in bed for ten days are you? If it was me, I'd be up in three."

"If it was me, I'd stay in bed for a month."

I looked away from them and across the graves. New flowers had been placed upon them, red this time, and the amount of debris in the area had decreased incredibly. As I continued to inspect I saw a dark haired figure sitting in front of the farthest rows by the wall. I quickly rose from my seat to join the girl.

I got there seconds later but made my approach silent. I didn't want to frighten her and I wondered if my presence would make things awkward. We've never just been together by ourselves. I remembered last week and my snide comments during the fight. Ugh, what if she doesn't even like me? I don't wanna force myself on her..

"The graves.." Sango said. Her voice was sad and pretty again. I tensed a bit as her brown eyes gazed over me. I was sure I had been completely silent.. how did she hear me coming? I stepped to her side and sat down. "You made graves for everyone."

I looked at the mounts of dirt. "Of course." I mumbled. She looked older than me but she was pretty nonetheless. Her eyes weren't as deep a brown as most people I've seen around here and a dark pink colour was put on her lids. Her hair wasn't black either, it was a very dark brown. I remembered my own natural hair colour and suddenly felt less abnormal. Her's was pulled back at the ends with a white ribbon in a very similar version to Kikyou's.

I looked over her again as I realized the similarities. She didn't really look the same. But the sadness in her eyes and the loneliness flowing from her body gave me the impression that they were. I felt a deep sorrow then.. the same as I felt as I watched Kikyou. Erg, was am I developing some sort of mild sister complex toward this stranger? It's not like it's her or anything..

But then suddenly I wanted this girl to be with us always. "Why don't you join us?" I heard myself say. "When you're healed of course.. Inuyasha isn't such a bad guy once you get to know him. I should know, we've been together since I.." I paused, remembering how we'd actually been separated for most of my life."..was a little girl. Miroku can be a bit of a pervert sometimes but it's not that difficult to ignore."

"You can see Shikon fragments, can't you?" She asked, resting her chin on her knees. Her head was tilted and her eyes gazed at me curiously.

"Yes." I nodded.

"But you're a hanyou."

"Yes."

"That means you cannot be a miko.."

"No." I shook my head.

"So therefore you shouldn't be able to."

"But I can." I protested.

She looked away from me now, down at the graves once more. "If you can sense them.. that means you are able to find the castle just from following that?"

"Yes, if we're close enough to the shards, it's possible. But me and Inuyasha's know the scent of Naraku, not very well but you still have a faint trace of it on your clothes. We can always follow that as well."

Sango looked at me again, her eyes cold and hard. She stared at me for a moment and in that moment I felt like she was about to tell me that my behaviour was inexcusable.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

I blinked and a strange emotion filled me. One I couldn't explain. "We will help you avenge everyone here at the village."

The hostility drained from her eyes . "Thank you.. but also.. the shikon no tama.."

"It was born here, wasn't it?" I said. " Yeah, we heard about that.. "

"Was that the reason why you came here?"

Now it was my turn to look away. "Maybe one of the reasons.. maybe the reason for Miroku. But not for me."

"What was your's then?"

"I.." Would she believe me if I told her? I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. I had no choice.. She was waiting. "The reason.. I can see Shikon shards even though I am not a miko.. is because.. according to my... according to Kaede the Miko from my village Midoriko was my ancestor. I came to learn about my heritage.. I came to train and get stronger and control the demonic urges within.. My story is complicated.. but basically those were the reasons.."

She rose to her feet at that moment and took a staggering step away.

"Sango-san?" I followed her wondering cautiously if she was going to collapse. As I matched my pace with her I noticed the height difference. She was taller than me.. about the same height as Kikyou.

"Just Sango is fine." She mumbled. "Since you held a funeral for everyone... Since I believe you.. I'll tell you about it. Why the shikon no tama was born."

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We walked deeper into the limestone cave. Flashlight in hand, I carefully placed my steps to make sure I was always at Inuyasha's side. He carried Sango on his back, so this time there was no way he could hold me. This made me slightly jealous but I knew Sango couldn't walk so I tried to repress the negative feelings.

"Have any of you been inside this cave.. and seen it?" Sango asked, her voice echoing across the stone.

"Yeah those mummified youkai, right?" Inuyasha answered, his voice joining hers in the reverberations.

"Right, and also.." Streams of light rained down upon us from above, creeping through the small cracks in the stone. I watched as the dust danced around the mummy. Shivers ran down my spine as I looked upon her decayed face.. as if any moment she'd come alive. "Countless numbers of youkai merged into one, and increased their power. Dragons, ground spiders, oni, and so on.. just to destroy one single human. "

Inuyasha placed Sango on her feet and she carefully lowered herself to her bottom, using a stalagmite for back support. "And.. the youkai then ate the human."

"Then.. this is a human as I thought." Miroku muttered, staring up at the mummy. "Wearing old armour.. an ancient general, huh."

Ancient general? I glanced toward Miroku as if he were crazy. Could his human eyes not detect it? This was defiantly a woman. Even though the bottom half of her body was not seen the curves in the upper made it quite clear.

"No you are wrong." Sango said, conforming my thoughts. "That is a woman. Several hundred years ago.. she was a miko."

"I see." Inuyasha said. "If youkai are your opponents then a miko is about as strong as 100 samurais."

"It was a time when the nobility were still in control of Japan." Sango explained, her eyes never straying from the body. "There were piles of people who had died in war and hunger.. As the corpses and exhausted humans were eaten, in no time, the numbers of youkai increased. All sorts of Buddhist priests and generals exterminated the youkai it appears but, above all was the miko Midoriko, who used an attack that drove out the youkai's souls and purified them. She had enough spiritual power to destroy 10 youkai at once."

My heart pounded in my ears and I saw Inuyasha's eyes flicker to me. He heard it, I know he did.. He stepped to my side and placed a hand on my head, forcing my nose to point to the ground. It calmed me. I didn't know how or why but it did. Maybe it was some sort of dog thing.. but I felt comforted.

"In this world there are humans, animals, trees, and rocks.." I glanced up, hearing Sango's voice again. No one had noticed Inuyasha and I.. or maybe they did but they were pretending that they didn't.. "Midoriko could purify all four of those souls."

"In shinto there is one way of thinking," Miroku said. His dark blue eyes shifted away as I looked at him and I wondered if he'd been watching us."Namely that 'shikon' is Ara-mitama, Nigi-mitama, Kushi-mitama, and Saki-mitama. All together these become one spirit, and in the flesh they live inside the heart. Ara-mitama is courage, Nigi-mitama is kinship, Kushi-mitama is wisdom, and Saki-mitama is to be in charge of love. Human nature is correctly maintained between them."

Inuyasha's grip on my head became slightly stronger and I returned my gaze back to him. He looked like he was struggling.. "And then..?" He asked.

"If you do evil, the shikon's actions fall down to evil." Miroku replied.

Inuyasha stared at the monk for a moment, the silence quickly became an annoying ringing in my ears. "S-stop changing things around!!"

"Shall I start again?" Miroku sighed.

"In other words, souls can become good or evil." Sango cut in.

Miroku nodded. "Right."

"It's still kinda confusing." Shippo confessed.

I sighed. "They mean that when all of those qualities, such as wisdom and courage, love and friendship, are found in one person, namely Midoriko, they unite to form a balance within the soul. That balance is powerful and that power can be used for good or evil.. Does that make more sense?"

Shippo nodded, but I wasn't totally convinced.

"Anyway.." Sango said before I could think of a even simpler way to explain what I had understood almost instantly. "The miko called Midoriko exorcised shikon, and had much experience in using the spell to transform a youkai's power to nothing. That's why the youkai were afraid of Midoriko, and started trying to take her life. But even if they attacked her suddenly, they were all exorcised, which is why, to overcome Midoriko's spiritual powers, a soul with massive evil was needed.. so the youkai became one."

"How?" Shippo questioned.

Sango pointed toward the bottom of the giant corpses. "Take a look over there. There's one more.."

My eyes followed her finger and then locked onto the face of a man. "Another human.." I mumbled.

"Midoriko.. hadn't always been a miko." Sango confessed. "There was a time when she had been a normal noble woman and this normal woman, free from the limitations of following a spiritual path, was arranged to be married. This was the man whom she married. He loved her so much that it became something of an obsession but unfortunately Midoriko was never able to return these feelings. A few years later, Midoriko, worried for her people, wanted to peruse what she'd always dreamed. To become a miko and protect those around her. To do this she could not be married. The man's heart never mended but his love for her also never faded. As the years went by and Midoriko's powers grew, the youkai took advantage of the man's weakness and malice toward the woman who left him, and possessed him. Many youkai merged into one as using a human with an evil heart to anchor with was the easiest."

I sense of deja vu ran over me.. I felt like I'd heard this story.. but.. from where..?

"..and Onigumo..that man filled with evil, harboured despicable desires for Kikyou. Unable to move, Onigumo's dreadfully evil thoughts filled the inside of the cave..and that evil drew in youkai...He traded his body to the youkai in exchange for one that could move freely.."

Oh.. that's where.. Naraku's monologue while I was drunk.. Why was everything in my life always leading up to.. always so similar to Kikyou..?

"This story.." Miroku's voice snapped me back to reality. I realized now that in my thoughts I had sub-consciously leaned my head against Inuyasha's chest. His hand was still on top of my head, but now it felt more protective than comforting. "This story is like it's about Naraku. Isn't it the same as when the wild thief Onigumo submitted his body to the youkai, and was reborn as Naraku?"

I heard Sango gasp. "Naraku was..!?"

"Continue the story, Sango." Inuyasha said, tickling my ears with his breath. "Did this miko.. beat the youkai, or did she lose?"

"The battle continued to 7 days and 7 nights and finally, Midoriko exhausted her power, and he body was eaten. It seems her soul was absorbed. But at that moment, with the last of her power, Midoriko seized the youkai's soul.. and her own soul was taken in and forced out of her body. There both the youkai and Midoriko died.. The cluster of souls remained and that's the Shikon No Tama.

"But even though their body had been destroyed, inside the jewel Midoriko's and the youkai's souls still continue to fight. In truth depending upon the soul of the person who holds the Shikon no tama, they become better or worse it seems. If a youkai or evil person holds it, their corruption increases. If a person with a pure soul holds it, then they are cleansed.

"In the hundreds of years since various youkai and humans have gotten hold of the Shikon No Tama on occasion, and in my grandfather's time, he brought it back to this town. He'd gotten it from a youkai he exterminated. Soon afterwards grandfather also died from the wounds he got at the time..But by that time, the Shikon No Tama had already been, corrupted badly."

"But Sango.." I mumbled, sensing that her story had come to an end. I pulled away from Inuyasha and he let me go easily. "The story I know.. was that my mother had the jewel and that my mother was a daughter of Midoriko.."

"Yes.." Sango gazed at me and nodded once. "I forgot to mention that while being married Midoriko had given birth to a child. After the deaths of his parents the was taken care of by the servants at the mansion. He knew the story of his parents well and with each generation the story was retold. Until again my grandfather's time.. when a young artist claiming to be the last descendant of the miko appeared in our village. Few people believed her, since she was infatuated with a inu youkai lord at the time. Most believed she was lying to get the jewel for him but nonetheless she stayed here, learning about Midoriko as much as she could. Until shikon no tama was brought back. The night after my grandfather died, she disappeared with the shikon no tama and that was the last they heard of her. Her actions conformed their suspicions but there was also the fact that a simple artist had the powers of a miko without ever practising, while being in love which had forced some to believe she was genuine."

"Do you know her name..?" I asked.

"She went by 'Itami Mika'.."

"Mika.." I dropped my gaze. My mother's name..

"Kaori.." I looked up at Sango again. "You remember, what I said. I said she was an artist."

I stared at her blankly. So..? My mother was an artist, who stole things, abandoned her children, and was in love with a youkai..

The taijiya got to her feet and stumbled towards me. She grabbed my hand and forced me to point the forgotten flashlight to the wall behind the giant corpses. The wall none of us had ever paid any attention to.

I forgot how to breathe.

The cave wall was covered with colour. Vibrant blues, greens, browns, pinks, the blackest of blacks, reds golds, purples. Everything was colour. Everything was painted. Not a hint of the dull grey stone was visible. The colours still shined, almost as if laced with magic.. paints mixed with glitter and life.

It was a mural. A picture of a large glowing neon pink ball with white mist and sparkles floated in frozen clouds around it. Inside the ball was the almost transparent face of a beautiful pale raven haired woman. Her eyes were closed. Her red lips were pressed together. Serious, strong and elegant.. What Midoriko would have looked like.

On the right of the jewel was a man. Tan complexion, red jagged lines across his cheeks, long aquamarine blue hair.. fangs.. bright baby blue eyes with tints of gold. Onyx black ears were pined back against his head and a black-violet little ball was clenched in his clawed fist. He looked serious as well.. but.. almost evil.. well not so much evil as.. maybe angry, as his eyes were narrowed and looked out as if he were staring right into your soul. But either way he was godlike.

On the left of the jewel was a woman. She was pale. She was facing away from the youkai but their free hands were still entwined together. She was holding a pale pink almost white little sphere close to her chest. Long light brown locks fell past her shoulders down to her waist and vivid green eyes, contrasting against a pale beautiful face, were pointed towards the sky.

My vision blurred with tears. My father.. My mother.. My history.. My story.. Everything I had ever wanted.. All that was in this room.. I could not reach.

End Of Chapter 43

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R&R Please

Thanks 4 Reading

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Was that dramatic enough? Because I don't feel as though it is.. but I tried like four different endings and this is the best one.. Please don't throw lids at me for sucking.. :(