Chapter 40
Tossing her hands up in dismay, Kagome sat down in a exasperated fashion.
"I really can't find it," she said in a small voice. "If it's even there, there has got to be one hell of a binding spell, masking spell, and pretty much any OTHER spell you can think of."
Sesshomaru was quiet for a moment as he considered his options. Which were quite few, he had to admit. He could dive his claw into Miyuki's side, where Kagome's own jewel had been hidden. With the wide-eyed glares of horror from both women at his suggestion, he knew that was out of the question. Or there was another possibility.
"Kagome," he said thoughtfully. She quirked a brow at him expectantly. "Perhaps you can join your soul force with Miyuki, as I did with you. In the dream realm, everything within it is part of Miyuki's consciousness. If there were to be something there that she does not recognize, that may be a clue to the second jewel."
Both women glanced at each other with anticipation, and slight jealousy. Why hadn't they thought of that? Both huffing in unison, they nodded their heads as Kagome rose to begin brewing meditative tea. While the water boiled in the salon of Miyuki's chamber, Kagome began to grow nervous.
"Sesshomaru...my dream realm was a reflection of me, of my feelings and subconscious thoughts." Turning her attention to Miyuki, she continued. "I'm concerned that because you have painful memories that are fresh considering you were finally able to recall them, that the dream realm won't be a peaceful one for you."
Miyuki pondered Kagome's words in silence. Truthfully, she had yet to deal with her past; preferring to brush it all under the rug, so to speak. She busied herself with aiding Hiro raise his infant son, allowing only warm and tender thoughts in his demi-palace. "You may be right, Kagome. At this point, though, I really don't think we have an option. We can't risk anyone coming to the same suspicions as you and Sesshomaru have. If the demon slayer village was aware of the contents of that scroll, there isn't a doubt in my mind that others are aware as well," she finished in a sigh.
"I know things have been rocky for us recently," Kagome paused shaking bad thoughts out of her mind, "but I want you to know that I will always be there to hold your hand through anything you need me for. You were my friend before you became Miyuki again. Kuri was my best friend for an entire year. That doesn't go away just because of one moment of bad." Smiling, she patted Miyuki's clawed hand, giving it a reassuring stroke. Miyuki blinked back tears that were threatening to fall.
Sesshomaru turned to face the window and let the women have their moment. He certainly would not have ever thought to find himself in such a position. Not only was the fate of the world resting on the clumsy hands of an untrained miko, but here was his current fiance chatting to his ex fiance.
Resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, he cleared his throat. "If the two of you are done with your...female bonding, we have a mission to complete," he stated nodding towards the boiling pot of water. Both women wiped away tears as they laughed dumbly. This time giving in to the urge, Sesshomaru pinched his nose and inhaled deeply. If the jewels are not the end of me, these two females are.
Just as the tea began to have effects on their increasingly sleepy eyes, they adjusted themselves comfortably on the futons by the tea table. Miyuki was instructed to simply fall asleep, and leave the work to Kagome. Kagome had no clue what she was doing, but was given strength by Sesshomaru's encouragement that she was more than capable of doing it. She began to focus on Miyuki's aura, studying the calm blue waves it gave off. It felt like a tropical sea, pulling and pushing as waves of tranquility drew her closer. Clinging to that idea, she imagined herself on a small raft, surrounded by a sea of Miyuki's ki. Then she found it; a gentle twirling whirlpool where her ki emptied into. Steering herself into that direction, she was caught off guard as she was violently pulled into Miyuki's dream realm.
Standing up weakly from the violent thrust, Kagome quickly scanned the empty hallway she found herself in. Seeing no signs of her neko friend, she decided to walk around until she found herself a clue. Remarking silently, Kagome admired the elegance of the stone walls and marble floor. Extravagant was being polite. The tapestries that flowed one after another like a movie told a story of a great neko lord and a wondrous battle with a white dragon. Kagome briefly wondered if the neko lord was Miyuki's father. Hitching her breath, Kagome realized she must be in the Eastern Palace before it's demise. Beating down her fear with a proverbial stick, Kagome made haste down the hall in search of her friend.
After a tiring 15 minute search and finding not a living soul, Kagome attempted to slump onto the wall behind her, only to fall through and land ungraciously on her rump.
"Ouch! What the hell?" Kagome questioned the silence angrily. Coming from somewhere unseen, Kagome could have sworn she heard Sesshomaru laughing at her expense. Growling quite similarly to an inu, Kagome examined the wall she fell through. Reaching up to touch it, she watched her hand disappear through the would-be stone.
"Okay," she said slowly trying to make sense of it. "Well in my dream realm everything was solid. Here, it seems that the only solid thing is the floor. What would that symbolize?" Taking a moment to tap her chin in thought, her eyes widened a fraction.
"Sesshomaru? Can you hear me?" She called out into the silence.
"Quite so, miko," came his echoing voice, still amusement lightly hinting in it.
"I can't find Miyuki, and the realm here is different than mine," she said.
"Well I would hope so, considering you and her are not the same female. What is it that you see?"
"I think I'm in the Eastern Palace," glancing around so she could describe the room she fell into, she called out loudly," It looks like I'm in some sort of meeting hall. There's a large table in the middle and chairs around it. And some strange curtains covering the walls."
Sesshomaru was quiet for a moment while he shut his eyes to recall that hall. That was the same hall where he had asked Miyuki's father for her hand. Brushing the memory aside, he called out to Kagome's sleeping form.
"There should be a large entrance door somewhere in the room, find it and go through it. I will direct you to the place where she most likely is located."
After winding and twining through the grand halls, Kagome came upon the very large, intricately designed doors to the Eastern Library. Taking a step through them, Kagome almost gasped at the sight before here. There stood the wonder that was the Grand Vault, the largest library in feudal Japan. Kagome couldn't even fathom how many yards the book cases went up. As she walked in amazement, she saw show cases of artifacts that could have possibly pre-dated 300 B.C. She could feel the disappointment raise within her with the knowledge that all this would soon perish to the hands of the Southern Dragons.
She was brought out of her musings by a giggle coming several book shelves away to her left. Following the sound, she came across a younger version of Miyuki with her nose buried in a scroll.
"Father will be so proud of me once I show him what I've mastered," Miyuki said gleaming. She was startled from her musings when she saw Kagome. "Uh-Hello. Who are you?" she asked cautiously rolling her scroll.
"You don't remember me?" Kagome asked furrowing her brows. Miyuki felt sheepish as she stood and gave a slight bow.
"Gomen, I don't recognize you," she said as she stood with her back straight. Her eyes were expectant as she waited for Kagome to explain her presence. Before Kagome was able to say anything, clashing and shouts began to echo through the palace. Miyuki bristled and pardoned herself quickly as she ran to investigate. Kagome glanced out the window and only caught a glimpse of Southern Flags before she pieced together what was happened. Fear hitched within her consciousness as she darted after Miyuki.
"Miyuki! Please stop running! You don't have to go through this again!" Kagome pleaded as she chased her through the halls. If only she knew where Miyuki would find- them – Kagome would be able to intercept her from finding them again.
"Miko." Sesshomaru's voice echoed. "This one thinks it is important for her to come across her parents. Simply follow her and offer comfort as I did for you when-" Suddenly Sesshomaru's voice was cut short by a shrilling scream.
Kagome raced as fast as her feet could take her, dodging the ghosts of the servants as they ran passed her looking for an escape. With her heart clamped tightly in her throat, Kagome approached the collapsed form of her friend. Something moved from the corner of her eye and she watched in horror as a grizzly looking demon raised an ax at her. Somehow she found her voice as she squared her shoulders at him.
"You are not real. You are only a figment of the demons chasing my friend in her nightmares," Kagome's furious miko energy swirled around her dangerously. "You will leave and no longer haunt Lady Miyuki nor will you continue to force her to relive this horrible fate of the Southern Palace," she said haughtily. The demon paused, then screamed in agony as her pink aura charged at him and eradicated it from existence.
Kagome felt sweat begin to bead quickly on her brow and she glanced around. "Why is it suddenly so hot?"
Before the thought could even leave her lips, the entire palace erupted in flames. Kagome dropped to Miyuki's side and covered her body with her own. Though she could see the flames dance around her flesh, she could not feel its burn. Glancing at her still unconscious neko, Kagome half carried her over her shoulder and staggered her way through the fire to find an exit.
She watched in horror as burning beams cracked above her head and came barreling down, only to fall through her and land in a quiet whips of smoke.
"Right," she whispered trying to regain her footing. "This is just a dream." Sparing a look at her friend with worry, she continued on. Finally, with a breath of relief, Kagome dropped Miyuki in the gardens in front of the palace and fell to her knees heaving.
After a few moments of trying to catch her breath, she felt Miyuki stir. Miyuki gasped and jumped up having the last memory of her parents, she shot up to her knees and stared with a blank expression ad the crumbling palace.
"It's not the first time I've had this dream," she admitted in a tiny whisper. "Ever since...ever since I regained my memory, this is the reality that haunts me every night.
Kagome bowed her head in self-hating guilt. She was the one to bring all these memories back. Maybe Miyuki would have been better off in her ignorant amnesia. Tears began to roll down her face as she recalled her own dream realm. It was torture, just as much as this place is torture for Miyuki. But she wasn't alone then. She refused to allow Miyuki to be alone now.
Turning fully to her friend, she allowed herself to remember all the good times she shared with Miyuki. Suddenly those memories began to flash in front of the burning palace, intercepting Miyuki's vision. She smiled and reached over to Kagome's hand, holding on to it tightly as tears continued to roll down both their faces. Then Kagome allowed only happy memories to follow, showing Miyuki all the good times she'd had in Inuyasha's pack, following Sesshomaru around and playing with Rin, putting Sesshomaru's court in their place. Both girls erupted in fits of laughter at the scowling faces of the youkai court.
The vision of the palace began to fade away, being replaced by a calm spring. Only few foliage decorated it, and the spring was small, though it bode well for future expansion. Kagome still had Miyuki wrapped in a warm embrace when a tiny orb floated down from seemingly no where, and landed calmly right above the center of the water; floating, nearly touching the spring water.
"Is that my essence?" Miyuki asked Kagome with bewildered eyes.
Unable to speak, Kagome only nodded in reply.
"So, what do we do now? We're supposed to look for the jewel?" Miyuki stood and pulled Kagome along with her.
"Well, we don't have to find the jewel, since we're still not 100% positive that you have it. But we're supposed to look for a subconscious clue, something that doesn't look like it belongs."
Kagome's voice began to fade as she followed Miyuki's pointing finger with her eyes. Under the spring, directly under the glow of Miyuki's essence, was a chest wrapped in pearls. Without hesitation, both girls dove into the water and swam to the chest. Miyuki tried to lift it, but failed. Kagome, attempting to wrap her miko energy around it to give it a push, noticed that the chest hummed with power in response to her energy. Miyuki caught on quickly and wrapped her youkai around the chest, and they watched as their energies began to swirl towards the chest, and a whirlpool began.
Frightened, the girls tried to swim away from the current, but were unable as they were dragged mercilessly towards the black hole that was once the chest.
Sputtering and gasping for breath, both girl shot their eyes open and gripped onto the floor for support, though it was no longer needed. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow in question at them, as they glanced around their surroundings. A tiny clink was heard as Miyuki shifted to stand up. The three of them stared at a rather large pearl, humming with power at Miyuki's feet.