» Disclaimer - I do not own Inuyasha

• Gather the Shards

Homeward Bound

• Chapter V •

Without thinking Shiori gripped the orb with both hands and a barrier was formed engulfing the whole town. As it expanded in a red glow, it pushed the bat demon away.

The demon gave the barrier a tap and was slightly repelled back in the air. He sounded disappointed, "I see…Lord Taigokumaru won't be happy with your resistance."

Inuyasha beat on the wood door as it closed behind him, the wood not even creaking from his attack.

"I see you got yourself another half-breed child," A voice mocked from the other side of the door, "I see not only did you seduce my son, but like the whore you are you couldn't keep your legs closed."

Giving the door another hit, Inuyasha tried to claw his way out and the wall seemed to have some sort of barrier keeping him from touching it. He growled lowly.

Shizu cried softly into one hand, not bothering to correct the demon yelling at her.

"You are lucky I need you alive," The deep voice continued, "My precious granddaughter is so hard to control when you aren't around."

Inuyasha slammed his body against the door, "Fuck you!"

"Don't worry mutt, I have plans for you."

Inuyasha spat on the door.

Inuyasha heard him walk away. The half demon slid down the wall feeling drained. In fact, he could feel his strength draining from the moment he was thrown in here.

He couldn't help but hope Kagome got away okay.

"This is where my Shiori was kept."

He turned his head lazily to look at Shizu fingering scratched writing that was on the wall.

"It's got a barrier of sorts that drains Youkai energy. This clan has amazing abilities with barriers," she said turning her head to look at him.

"What the hell is going on around here?" he asked dryly.

"That is a long story." Shizu laughed humorlessly, still running her fingertips over the wall.

Inuyasha felt blood flow from the wound on his chest, and his body felt beaten and sore. And he was pretty sure his right arm was broken and useless for now. He gave Shizu a look that said he wasn't going anywhere. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but it felt nice sitting next to her. She reminded him of his own mother…

"Hmm, where to begin…well…you see these demons have ruled this land for centuries. My husband was…eccentric compared to the others. Humans fascinated him. When he became the clan leader he stopped the attacks on humans. Forcing the bat demons to get blood elsewhere. He made a deal with the town, because bat demons can't go completely without human blood."

Shizu paused, scratching her nail along the words engraved on the wall, tracing the letters, "Every few decades the town had to send a virgin sacrifice to the demons and the town would be granted protection." She looked up at Inuyasha, "I was a sacrifice."

"I was so frightened," she continued, turning back to the wall, "But Tsukuyomaru, he. Well. We fell in love. And together had Shiori." She smiled, "You know, being half demon doesn't mean you are inferior to demons…or to mortals. My Shiori is every bit as powerful as my husband. And as human as I am."

Inuyasha looked at her and heard the words of his own mother. And then when Kagome had scolded him for thinking Shiori being a half demon mattered. He had felt so relieved. It was the first time a human other than his own mother had treated him as an equal. He shook those thoughts away. He was getting his hopes up for nothing.

Shizu pressed her palm to the wall, "There is this orb they call the Blood Orb. It's this clan's most sacred treasure, because it decides the leader, like a king's crown. The one it chooses is the most powerful demon in the clan, and their power is amplified by the orb. When the orb chose Shiori, we were so proud."

"But Taigokumaru was furious." Shizu's voice gradually grew more and more angry, "He killed my husband and drank his blood. A punishment of disownment from what I've been told. He then used me to control Shiori. Even though Shiori is now the orb's holder, she listens to him. Oh god, I wish he could've just killed me! These demons have no self-control. With Taigokumaru in charge they eat everything! And my poor Shiori is forced to endure such horror... " She trailed off in thought.

They sat in silence.

There was a thump, "Ah-ha!" Shizu shouted victoriously, turning to Inuyasha. The wall she had been messing with now had an opening large enough to crawl through, "Now you can get out of here. Please go and take my daughter somewhere safe."

"Hah?"

"How do you think Shiori was able to escape this place?" She shook her head, "This room effects the Youkai, but it does nothing to humans. Taigokumaru was a fool for putting us in here. How do you think Shiori got out the first time?"

"Girl, get up. You can't die here."

Kagome felt a light familiar burning sensation in her hip and slowly blinked herself awake. She was able to make out Shiori's crying face. What?

Kagome sat up quickly, and she winced at the sudden rush of pain that caused. With a hand to the back of her head she whipped around to Shiori.

"Miss Kagome? You-you're okay?!"

"What," Kagome looked at Shiori, seeing that red orb clenched tightly between her hands. Drops of sweat dripped down the little girl's face. The ground around them was littered in debris and makeshift weapons. Was the sky red? "…what happened?"

"There is no use for idle chatter, girl," Something tapped lightly against her cheek. Kagome froze and Shiori looked at Kagome's shoulder in shock. There was a huge centipede on her shoulder, its antenna tapping gently against her face. Kagome's first instinct was to brush it off as quickly as possible but that voice…

"Midoriko?" Kagome asked. How? And why was she just a centipede?

"Yes, I couldn't let you die here," The centipede spoke, its front pincers twitching and Kagome got chills up her spine.

Midoriko was here to help?

"The barrier that has enveloped the entire town is the most impressive one I've seen," Midoriko commented, "But the energy it takes is too much for this little half-breed-."

"Shiori!" Kagome corrected, "Her name is Shiori."

Shiori gave Kagome a small guilty smile, as if apologizing. Which Kagome wanted to correct but now was not the time. But there was no reason for Shiori to feel ashamed!

"…You are wasting my time. But fine. It's too much energy for Shiori to hold for long. I know that the rest of that bat demon's army is coming," Midoriko directed her insect eyes to Kagome, "You said that the leader had a shard, yes?"

Kagome nodded, recalling saying that when they were in the bat demon's lair. How did Midoriko hear that?

"Then I have a plan, little ha- Shiori," The centipede coughed correcting herself, "Make the barrier smaller."

"But," Shiori's eyes were downcast, a frown on her face, "The humans, if I let it down, they'll die."

"Shiori..." Kagome said softly.

"Those humans are not worthy of life," the centipede's head shook, "Give up that heroism. And girl," The insect gestured to Kagome, "Go get that crossbow over there, one of the humans left it behind."

Shiori shook her head, refusing to let down the barrier as Kagome reached over to the crossbow, feeling unsure on how to use it.

"Ah ah ah. Shiori, you must know if you use too much energy that you will die," Midoriko said bluntly and Shiori stilled, her grip on the orb tightening. Kagome noticed Shiori's breathing was shallow.

"I don't know what to do," Shiori said weakly.

A bright light erupted against the barrier, an explosion Kagome could see flattened against the barrier's surface. Then an ear piercing sound echoed.

Kagome clamped her hands over her ears to try to lessen the pain, and Shiori leaned against her.

"Grandfather…"

"A sonic attack," Midoriko cursed. "They got here sooner than I expected."

"My little Shiori!" A demonic voice called out from beyond the barrier. Kagome could see its massive silhouette in the cloud of dust that remained of the explosion. She could hear other whispers from above, commenting on the amount of humans.

"Run, girl," the centipede urged, tugging on Kagome's collar.

"My precious granddaughter, I can't subject you to living among mortals," That booming voice bargained, "Come back to me, you'll be with your mother again."

"…Mommy…"

Shiori paused as if contemplating it. Kagome couldn't help but think that this demon's word meant nothing and they should run as Midoriko advised. Grabbing the crossbow in one hand and Shiori in the other, Kagome ran. She took off as fast as she could in the opposite direction the voice had come from.

"I promise to spare your mother's life if you let down the barrier," Taigokumaru's voiced called out from above.

"Little half-breed," The centipede interrupted and Kagome growled, "Make the barrier smaller."

Shiori abruptly stopped, her grip on Kagome's hand jerking her to a halt as well. The orb Shiori had started to pulse.

"Someone got in," Shiori whispered.

"Shiori? What is it?" Kagome asked concerned.

"Someone broke through my barrier, like it was nothing, demons shouldn't be able to enter," Shiori said staring at the red orb in confusion.

"From where? Did the bat demons get in?" Midoriko inquired crawling down Kagome's sleeve to get on level with Shiori.

"No, grandfather didn't get it," Shiori shook her head, "It came from over-."

Shiori cut herself off and this time dragged Kagome towards the direction she felt the breach.

"Shiori! I know you are in there. Answer me! Don't you care about your mother?" Taigokumaru's voice echoed out again.

"Mommy!" Shiori ignored her grandfather and ran to the edge of the barrier.

There was Shizu dragging her body with her good arm into the barrier. Kagome almost fell over in relief and missed Midoriko's gasp.

"If they are alive then they have a chance to survive," Midoriko muttered quietly to herself.

Shiori ran to her mother's side, and Kagome could feel tears forming in her own eyes. They got away!

"Mommy you got out!" Shiori assisted her mother in sitting up.

"Yes. We saw the barrier and I knew you were here," Shizu explained. "That boy, he carried me."

"Inuyasha," Kagome said proudly. She blinked and looked around, trying to see behind Shizu, "Where is he?"

"Did he not come with you?" Shiori asked.

"No, he," Shizu pointed to a remains of a bat demon behind the barrier, "He saved me. But he couldn't get through the barrier himself. There was more of them, I'm not sure where he went."

"I'm going to go find him then, you guys stay here," Kagome said her grip on the crossbow tightening.

"No, girl, you will die." The centipede protested.

"If we leave him alone he will die!" Kagome said angrily, not being swayed. She stomped right through the barrier before Shizu or Shiori could say anything in protest. The red wall of the barrier pushed Midoriko back, forcing her off Kagome's shoulder.

The centipede landed in the grass as Kagome ran off.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out.

"Wait! Miss Kagome!" Shiori tried to warn, "They can smell you!"

"Huh? Smell me?"

"When you got hit you started bleeding, they can smell that! Please come back!'

Rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head sure enough she was bleeding. That explained why she was so light headed. But Inuyasha was out here all alone, and the stubborn guy never let her wrap his wound. She couldn't let him die out here!

Kagome heard the flapping wings above and knew Shiori must have been right, that they did sniff her out.

Kagome felt a gust of wind so strong that it forced her to her knees. A wave of energy hit the barrier barely missing her. The force of impact caused an explosion that pushed her away. She almost dropped the crossbow when that ear piercing screech accompanied the blast, her free hand covering an ear.

"Dammit dog, you made me miss." That large voice boomed behind the cloud of dust.

Shiori knelt next to her mother, her face strained and out of breath. That explosion caused the barrier to waver.

"Half breed," Midoriko said, "You are at your limit. Just drop it. They are already here."

"What do you mean she's at her limit?" Shizu asked the centipede.

"I mean she will die if she doesn't drop it."

Shizu's eyes hardened and ordered, "Shiori drop the barrier now."

"But-Mommy! The other humans! They'll die! It's all my fault it's like this!"

"Shiori," Shizu hugs her daughter close, as tight as she could with her good arm, "My baby, none of this is your fault."

Shiori cried dropping the orb, wrapping her arms around her mother. The barrier faded away.

"Finally. I'm glad you are being reasonable, Shiori," Taigokumaru laughed, another gust of wind blowing the dust away.

Kagome looked up to see a huge beast of a creature, its face ancient with large bulging eyes and razor teeth. Is that Taigokumaru? She spotted Inuyasha in its grip struggling to free himself.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said upon seeing him, relieved he was alive.

"Fuck you demon, I'll kill you." Inuyasha spat out. Taigokumaru's grip tightening caused Inuyasha to gasp out in pain.

"Such big talk for such a weakling," The giant bat demon taunted.

Inuyasha snarled loudly and struggled more in his grip. Getting on arm free Inuyasha brought it to his bleeding chest.

"Blades of Blood!"

The attack landed, cutting though a side of the bat demon's face. Taigokumaru brought a hand up to gather some of the blood to inspect it. "Daggers of blood?" He brought it to his face to lick the blood off his hand.

"Aurgh!" Inuyasha called out and Taigokumaru tightening his grip even more.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out concerned.

"Oh I'll get you for that dog! I can taste the weakness in your blood!"

Kagome aimed the crossbow at the demon. A little concerned because she only had on arrow that was on the bow, "Please hit!" She cried out, pulling the trigger. She fell back not expecting the kickback the weapon gave.

The arrow she released was covered in that light she had summoned before. The arrow hit its mark upon Taigokumaru's large wing, the light surrounding it burning away most of its leathery surface.

"What?!" Taigokumaru fell from the sky hollering out in pain. He lost his grip on Inuyasha and they both fell. Inuyasha's fall slightly lessened by tree branches.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome ran to Inuyasha's side, "Are you alright?! Can you get up? We need to get Shiori and her mom and get out of here! That guy has a shard and-!"

Inuyasha sat up with Kagome's help. He cut her off from her babbling by shoving her behind him, his ears twitching, "That demon's still alive."

Taigokumaru lifted himself from the ground, "My wing…No matter, as long as I have Shiori I will have control!" He raced across the ground towards Shiori, "My precious granddaughter, you are making this much harder than this needs to be."

Shizu watched him approach with wide eyes. She pushed Shiori behind her and clenched her eyes closed in anticipation. Midoriko slithered away soundlessly.

The orb on the ground began to pulse and a barrier was formed around them. Taigokumaru slammed right into it; the orb pulsed again and the bat demon flew back, his body singed.

Shiori felt a warmth envelope her within the barrier, and her mother felt it as well.

"…Daddy?"

Taigokumaru staggered, and knelt on one knee. His breathing was heavy. He had never seen the barrier react in such a way.

"The shard in his heart!"

Inuyasha's hand protruded from Taigokumaru's chest. The shard in its clutches. Taigokumaru's body crumbled away to ash as Inuyasha pulled away, the shard in hand.

"It would seem the shard was keeping him alive." Inuyasha reasoned, the shard he held was clouded and dark.

"Is he…really gone?" Shizu asked slowly.

Inuyasha nodded. "I think your husband didn't go down without a fight."

Shizu smiled at him.

"Also kid," Inuyasha said, "That was an impressive barrier."

"That wasn't something I did," Shiori said looking down at the red orb, "Someone's gentle arms…embraced me and Mommy. Protecting us."

"Those arms were your father's," Shizu said gently to Shiori, "Lord Tsukuyomaru."

Shiori nodded smiling, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes again.

"Your father just wanted you to be safe," Kagome commented to herself.

Kagome helped Inuyasha stand straight as he staggered in place and couldn't help but be happy at what had just happened. Things were going to be okay. She reached over and grabbed the sliver from Inuyasha's grasp before he could protest. A little curious about how something so small could be so powerful.

"Hey!" Inuyasha complained but was silenced as he watched the jewel go from cloudy to clear at Kagome's touch.

This is what Midoriko wants? Kagome stared at the jewel not really getting it.

Kagome jumped as she felt something crawl up her leg. Midoriko made her way down Kagome's arm and snatched the jewel right out of Kagome's hand.

"Midoriko?!" Kagome exclaimed. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the bug.

Inuyasha tried to make a grab for the insect but it moved too fast and disappeared into Kagome's pocket. Kagome twisted her face in disgust, reaching into her pocket to fish the centipede out, but not wanting to actually touch it.

There was nothing in her pocket except her compact mirror. Pulling that out she saw the mirror's cracked surface, the one large shard that remained untouched gleaming back at her. Looking closer Kagome saw Midoriko's spirit form lurking back at her. Its large eye and small pupil staring, making her uncomfortable.

"You are very fast," Midoriko's voice said from the mirror, "I didn't expect you to find the next shard so quickly."

"What the…?" Kagome shook her head. Even if Midoriko tried to help them, she wasn't so sure about this.

"Now gather the other one you found and—." Inuyasha crushed the mirror with one hand. Kagome opened her mouth in protest. He let the shards fall to the ground.

"Inuyasha!"

"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms, not about to defend what he had just done.

"Young Master Shiori." A voice said that caught their attention. The rest of the bat demons that came with Taigokumaru were surrounding Shiori and Shizu. Kagome jumped and ran towards Shiori, afraid they would attack but she was stopped dead in her tracks when all the demons kneeled around Shiori.

"You are their leader now," Shizu explained to them. Shiori leaned closer to her mother, the blood orb glowing.

"No more fighting?" Shiori asked. One of the demons looked up at her.

"It's by your orders," He told her.

Shiori hugged her mother in celebration. "Then-then!" Shiori looked over to Inuyasha and Kagome happily, "You guys can stay with us, right? I mean until you heal and eat!"

Inuyasha looked surprised by her request. Kagome answered for the both of them, "We would love to!"

Inuyasha looked mystified by the whole thing.

They went with Shiori back to the manor. Kagome was able to finally patch Inuyasha up. He wouldn't let anyone but her do it, not that she minded. And to her surprise he was healing rather quickly now that he wasn't running around. Although he made it apparent it wasn't fast enough.

They were also able to get Shizu some help as well. She had to walk with a cane, because her ankle would never heal correctly, but they were able to get her collar bone set. At least that's what the bat demon who was the resident doctor said. Kagome felt that now that the bats were listening to Shiori he was being truthful. In fact, it seemed that some of the bats liked the relative peace Lord Tsukuyomaru had brought about. But they had feared Taigokumaru's wrath, and his control over Shiori who had listened to him to keep her mother safe.

Kagome walked back to her room after sharing a large shared bath with Shiori. It was a huge heated tub with many soaps and things Kagome learned were very commonly used by bat demons to make them scentless. And it was a heated bath. Something she never thought she would ever have again.

Shiori had talked nonstop wanting to know everything about Inuyasha. Where he came from, how he survived. Which of his parents were human. If he knew other half demons. How he got to be so powerful. Kagome didn't have the heart to tell her she knew next to nothing about him, so she escaped around the topic, hinting to Shiori she should ask Inuyasha the next time she saw him.

Then Shiori had paused and told her, "The Blood Orb has a shard of that jewel in it as well."

"Does it? What does it do?" Kagome asked.

"It makes the barrier even stronger. I can feel its power when I use it…" Shiori looked down, her bangs shadowing her eyes, "It talks too. It hasn't talked since I met you and Mister Inuyasha, but. It's says horrible things sometimes. Mommy says to ignore it. That it's lying."

"The shard talks?" Kagome remembered Hōsenki saying something similar. "What type of things does it say?"

"That I should gather the rest of the shards…and that I will be able to gain a wish for whatever I want once the jewel is complete. Like immortality or control over everyone in the world."

Kagome looked at the red orb in Shiori's possession, looking worriedly at the glowing shard in its center. The light pulled her closer and Kagome reached out a hand to touch the orbs cool surface. She could practically feel the shard draw itself closer to her.

Kagome pulled away, "Do…do you think it's lying?"

Shiori shook her head, "I think it's bad. Mommy says it's bad. That grandfather was playing with things that would destroy him."

"Let me…" Kagome said, her eyes lingering on the red orb before she forced herself to look Shiori in the eye, "Let me ask Inuyasha about it. See what he thinks. He knows more about the shards then I do."

Shiori looked happy with that and nodded.

With her cleaned school uniform folded in her arms, Kagome was given a beautiful night gown to wear for the night. Shiori had made a comment that her uniform was a little revealing and showed too much skin but Kagome had to decline. Her uniform was almost a reminder that this wasn't home. That she needed to find a way back.

Kagome entered the room that was prepared for her and Inuyasha to share. And sure enough he was in there sitting on the floor with his back to the bed.

"Finally," He scoffed, "You take forever."

"You didn't have to wait up," Kagome placed her folded clothes on the vanity and sat down next to Inuyasha, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Chi." He folded his arms and looked away.

"So I've been wanting to ask you." Kagome said seriously, "Are you a…"

"A what?"

"Are you a hanyou? Like Shiori?"

Inuyasha's shoulders rose up defensively, "So what if I am?!"

"I was just curious. I've never met a demon, much less a hanyou before I met you," Kagome said.

Inuyasha glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Also it explains these cute dog ears!" She squealed reaching a hand up to tweak one, rubbing the fur in wonder. Inuyasha leaned away from her, glaring.

"They are not cute! Don't do that!" He yelled with a red face. Kagome spied the ear she had touched still twitching.

"Sorry sorry," She said good-naturedly, "I couldn't help myself. I've been wanting to touch them for a while. They're so cute."

"They are not cute!"

"Oh sorry. They aren't cute. I don't know what I was thinking," Kagome corrected herself with a laugh, the then rested her head on her knees and looked at him with a smile, "I'm glad I met you Inuyasha."

Inuyasha paused, the anger on his face dropping.

"I would have died if I hadn't met you. But with you I have a chance to get home."

Inuyasha looked at her skeptically.

"There has to be a way to get home. For you and for me. I mean. I don't know if I want to gather those shards. If today was anything like what it's going to be like. It's too dangerous. And Midoriko scares me."

"…home…" Inuyasha echoed her so softly that she barely heard it. Kagome decided that they needed a change of topic. To lighten the mood.

"Oh!" Kagome said pulling out her cell phone. It was almost dead but that didn't really matter at this point, "Look what me and Shiori did!"

She leaned over so Inuyasha could see the screen. There were pictures of her and Shiori and Shizu all standing together smiling.

"What is this?" He asked.

"Pictures! I wanted something to remember this by. If I ever get home again I want to print this out."

Inuyasha took the phone from her, sniffing it. Kagome let him and tried to show him how to swipe the surface to the next picture, but he was so clumsy with it that changed it to something else. Kagome heard a beep come from the phone and sighed.

"What the fuck?! What?!" Inuyasha looked at the screen angrily, "Why am I in your box?!"

Kagome took the phone away from him as he looked to her for answers, "You just put it on record. Here let me fix it."

She tried to pull the pictures back up when the screen went black on her. She looked down sadly, "Oh. It died."

"Died? I killed it?" Inuyasha sniffed the phone again, getting defensive, "It doesn't smell alive, I didn't think it could be killed."

"No no." Kagome said, showing him the screen again, "It's the battery life. It only lasts for so long without a charge. And my charger is at home."

"So it comes back to life?" He asked tilting his head.

Kagome put down her phone and almost laughed at how dog like that move was, "Yeah, you could say that."

Inuyasha patted her phone, "Good."

They sat in a comfortable silence. Kagome bumped Inuyasha with her shoulder.

"We did the right thing today."

"…Does it matter if it was the right thing?" He asked.

"It matters to me. Shiori and Shizu got their home back. It sounds like you avenged Lord Tsukuyomaru's death. And the humans can hopefully make peace with the demons," Kagome's gaze darkened as she recalled the things the townsfolk had said and done to Shiori, "And maybe the humans can see where they are wrong."

"Huh?"

Kagome looked at him, debating on whether to tell him or not. She shook her head, "No, never mind. It's nothing. We just need to find a way to get away from Midoriko. I mean even Shiori has a shard. I wonder if we should take it, she says it…says things."

"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed folding his arms in his sleeves, "We should take the shard anyway. If Mikorido is really after them then she'll come after her."

Kagome brought her hands to her face and looked at Inuyasha in horror.

"You don't think Midoriko would do that would you?! Like what she did to Hōsenki?! Shiori's just a child!"

Kagome felt that burning in her hip again. She clutched it tightly.

"Girl."

Kagome looked up to see Midoriko appear in the mirror above the vanity across from them. Inuyasha jumped in front of her, his arm out, his sleeve hiding most of her from sight. Kagome gritted out, "Midoriko?"

"What do you want spirit?" Inuyasha barked out.

"Girl I want you to take the shard that small half breed has and bring it back to me," Midoriko said calmly. Her appearance this time one that looked like Kagome's doppelganger in old armor, "I don't have the power to retrieve it on my own at this moment."

Kagome's head was reeling. How dare she call Shiori a half breed, it was clearly used as an insult. Why tell them she was weak? Inuyasha growling loudly the whole time was kind of distracting her thoughts.

Midoriko continued, "Once you have the shard I want you to bring it to the well and come back. You control the location as you share Midoriko's spirit. I want that-"

Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore and shattered the mirror. The glass flying all over the room, thankfully none landed near her.

"…I control the location?" Kagome echoed quietly.

"Fucking shut up you witch," Inuyasha shouted at the shattered mirror. He then dusted his hands off looking at her after a job well done, "Don't listen to that thing."

"I control the location..."

"So?"

"Inuyasha, don't you know what this means?!" Kagome squealed running over to him.

"No I don't."

Taking his hands in hers, she jumped up and down excitedly, "It means I control the location! She said I control where the well takes us!"

"Huh? I don't follow."

"Inuyasha, there is a bone eaters well in my world! There's a way home!"