Chapter 25: Himitsu no Dokutsu

Sunlight filtered through the thick grove, casting warm rays of light onto Alice's back which she happily welcomed.

"What a beautiful day it is today!" Kagome stated as cheerful as ever.

"Indeed. Since this spot is so peaceful how about we take a nice, short break from traveling and eat lunch here?" Miroku offered with a glance back at Inuyasha to see if the hanyou agreed.

"Keh, that's all you guys want to do now and days," Inuyasha replied, annoyance flashing through his golden eyes.

Hushed voices responded to Inuyasha, they were too quiet for Alice to hear so she looked up to the sky and closed her eyes, taking in all the warmth the sunlight could give her. When she felt her companion's eyes on her, Alice slowly opened her eyes, a frown forming on her face.

They're worried about me again? I wish they'd see that I'm perfectly fine and there's nothing to worry about Alice thought with a small sigh.

Putting on a bright and somewhat forced smile, Alice turned around and asked the group, "So Inuyasha, are we staying here for lunch or shall we wait a little longer until we find another spot to eat?"

Adverting his gaze from Alice, Inuyasha sighed before replying unenthusiastically, "I guess we can stay here for a short while, but kami please not the whole day. We've been resting way too much lately."

"Great!" Alice responded while walking over to another patch of sunlight in the middle of the clearing, "Let's eat over here."

"Sure, it's a perfect spot to eat while enjoying the warmth of the sun," Sango agreed as she walked over to join Alice where she sat.

While Kagome pulled out some bentos from her yellow bag, memories flashed through Alice's mind.

I remember helping Kagome make these, but that was almost a whole month ago. Wow time really does fly by here.

At the sight of Alice's wide eyes, Shippo cocked his head and asked innocently, "Alice? Is something wrong?"

Blinking back into reality, Alice noticed the worried look the tiny kitsune gave her and smiled back at him reassuringly.

"Nothing is wrong Shippo, don't worry. I was just thinking about the day Kagome and I made these bentos," Alice explained as Shippo nodded in understanding, relief showing in his aqua eyes.

"Wow that was some time ago," Kagome chuckled as she opened up on of the bentos.

"Yeah, almost a month has passed since we left Kaede's" Sango put in.

"I know, it's amazing how fast time flies by here," Alice pointed out, voicing her thoughts, before an image of her home flashed through her mind causing her to suddenly look down.

"Alice?" Shippo's worried voice once again brought Alice back from journeying through her memories. This time however, everyone was looking at her in concern.

Rather than wait for someone to ask, Alice just came out and explained what was on her mind, "It's been over a month since I arrived here, since I've seen my parents. And it makes me wonder, what are they doing right now? Are they worried? Sad? Scared? And for myself, will I return or be stuck here forever?"

"We've come so far but it seems like I've only taken a step towards getting back home," Alice finished with a defeated sigh.

Worry and sadness flowed through Alice's veins as she looked up at the others, hoping that they could somehow reassure her.

Miroku's indigo eyes sparkled with sympathy as he spoke in a comforting tone, "I know how you must feel about returning. Not seeing a loved one for a long period of time can wreak havoc on one's soul. But don't think that we've come so far only to learn so little. Look at all the information we've discovered so far. We know Naraku is somehow connected to you being here and that in itself is a huge step."

"I know but we don't even have the slightest clue of how he brought me here or why," Alice replied, worry still remaining in her heart.

"Don't worry about it. When that time comes we'll find out why you're here and how to get you back home, but until then relax. It's been a long, rough few weeks for you and the best thing to do now is to rest and recover your energy," Sango advised.

Hearing Sango's words brought some soothing warmth and peace to Alice's chaotic heart. It wasn't enough to put her mind at ease but it did brighten her up enough to truly smile while replying, "Yeah, I guess so."

Settling down in one of the many trees that surrounded the clearing's roots, Alice closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over. But before the darkness got hold of her, Alice once again made out the hushed murmurs of her friends.

Straining her ears to hear what they were saying more clearly, Alice frowned as she realized their voices were only becoming fainter as they walked away from the clearing. Opening an eye to a mere slit, she looked around to find the clearing completely empty, with the exception of her and Kirara, who stayed behind to bask in the sun next to Alice.

Settling back down into the groove of the roots, Alice let out a sigh. And they say I wander off too much.

A flash of movement halted Alice from fully closing her eyes as she bolted up and looked around the clearing for any signs of a threat.

At the sight of Alice getting up so urgently, Kirara transformed into her true form and growled a warning to whatever creature was watching the two.

Unsheathing her sword, Alice moved towards the spot at the edge of the clearing where she spotted the creature disappear. With Kirara at her side, Alice was confident they could outmatch their opponent, if it truly was an enemy.

However, much to both Alice and Kirara's surprise, a tiny speck of light flew out of the bush and towards Alice.

"What's this? A firefly?" Alice questioned while tilting her head in confusion.

Her stance was copied by Kirara, whose eyes were curiously following the small, glowing, bug, which circled the two over and over before 'jumping' up and down.

"I think it's trying to tell us something…" Alice started with a look towards Kirara while the firefly twirled around her, 'jumped', and flew off into the woods.

Alice, still curious about the firefly, started after the bug but was held back by Kirara, who held Alice's gray kimono's white rim firmly in her mouth.

"Don't worry Kirara. We'll only be gone for a few minutes; no one will know we've gone. Besides it's a firefly. It's not like it's going to be any trouble," Alice said.

With a reluctant whimper, Kirara released Alice, who continued after the firefly which was eagerly waiting for the two to follow.

The firefly led the two deep into the forest and the further they got from camp the more uneasy Kirara became. The neko's demonic aura repeatedly flared up and died down and the further they went from the camp the longer the demonic aura stayed flared up.

"Calm down Kirara, your aura might attract some unwanted attention," Alice whispered while petting down the fur on Kirara's back.

At the nervous and uncomfortable look Kirara gave her, Alice gently patted her head and spoke kindly, "Don't worry. If we don't arrive in the next few minutes we can turn around and go back."

This seemed to lift the neko's spirit for a while, that is until the firefly led them to a dark cave. Kirara growled in warning as Alice took her first step into the dark cave; fire Shikigami newly afloat on her hand.

Alice sighed, "Come on Kirara, this is the place. You can either stay out here and wait for me to return or come along with me," Alice finished impatiently.

She then turned her back on the neko and continued into the darkness of the cave. Relief flooded through her as she heard the light steps of Kirara trailing behind her. The cave consisted of many tunnels that went up and curved down, and Alice feared that she would get lost, so having a familiar face with her was very reassuring.

Still, I hope this firefly knows where it's going. Getting lost in here is not on my list of fun things to do and Inuyasha would have a fit trying to find us down here Alice thought as she lost count of the pathway back.

The cold, damp walls pressed uncomfortably on her skin, making it feel as if she were being squished. At one point, the walls were so close together that Kirara had to revert back into her smaller form and Alice had to carry her through the tight gap.

As the tunnel continued to carry on Alice looked back at the direction they came, suddenly wishing that she had listened to the neko's warnings and headed back to the camp site.

This isn't good… At this rate we won't get back before the others…

A light breeze flowed through the tunnel, making Alice's hair flow around her and cutting her thought off. At the cool, refreshing touch of the breeze Alice immediately picked up her pace, easily overcoming the firefly, only to come to a halt as a faint glow lit the tunnel.

Cautiously, she moved towards the light, shielding her eyes with her one free hand while Kirara curled into Alice her eyes closing to mere slits. Once she stepped into the tunnel, which opened up into a massive cave, Alice gasped.

Light danced off the walls in a wonderful scene while drops of water added sound to make the scene appear almost dream-like. At the site of all of this, all of Alice's fears melted away into awe as she and Kirara marveled at the show before them.

After closer examination, Alice found many fireflies flying around in the cave. Their light reflected off of giant crystals that hung on the wall, floor and ceiling. Within minutes of seeing the glowing lights, an idea sparkled in the two's mind as their eyes met and a plan formed in their head.

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"Come on, it's just a little farther!" Alice pleaded as she led Inuyasha and the others through the dark tunnels of the cave.

"Keh, this is stupid. We're gone for what, five minutes? And you just decide to go who knows where while we waste more of our time trying to find you when we should be going after Naraku. Why'd you bring us here anyway?" Inuyasha's growl bounced off the tunnel's walls.

"Oh come on Inuyasha, it's alright. We found them remember? And plus it can't be that bad to see what they want to show us," Kagome replied.

"Yeah and we have to take a break every once and a while or we'll pass out from exhaustion. Plus we're almost there so there's no use in turning back unless all of this walking was for nothing," Alice added as she let her fire Shikigami dim down, making the tunnel that much darker.

A small whimper from Shippo sparked sympathy in Alice as she looked back at the tiny kitsune and said reassuringly, "Don't worry Shippo; everything will be fine, you'll see."

Letting the fire fully die out, Alice quickly grabbed Inuyasha's kimono's sleeve and called out, "Grad onto the person behind you, we don't want anyone getting lost in here."

After hearing a shuffle of feet Alice clearly made out Sango's voice as she yelled, "Miroku!"

The sound of a hand making contact with the skin of a face was quickly followed by a sigh from everyone else in the tunnel as Miroku spoke up, "I was only doing what Alice told us to do, nothing more."

"Oh sure, I'll believe that when the sun shines at night," Sango muttered.

"Okay Alice, I think we're ready now," Kagome's voice echoed from behind.

Smiling, Alice started forward, tugging Inuyasha's kimono's sleeve as a signal to start moving forward. The tunnel winded back and forth multiple times before a familiar faint glow lit the tunnel. Looking back, Alice grinned at the curious looks her friends were giving accompanied by Inuyasha's snow white ears perking up in curiosity.

Letting go of Inuyasha, Alice walked ahead of everyone, her hand raised up, egging them onward. "Come on!"

After a few hesitant moments the group finally made it to its destination. Once there, gasps of surprise echoed throughout the cave as lights danced around the group.

"Alice… What…" Kagome started, eyes wide, taking in all she could.

Alice giggled, "So do you like it? Not so stupid now huh?"

While Inuyasha was too busy looking all over the cave, Miroku turned to Alice while saying, "It's amazing. Are those fireflies?"

"Yeah, you see their light reflects off the crystals creating this," Alice explained with a wave of her hand.

"Wow…" Sango murmured as the spectacle around them unfolded as moonlight filtered into the cave from the opening above earning gasps of awe from everyone in the room including Alice.

"So does this place have a name?" Shippo asked, eyes glowing with curiosity.

"A name? Why would we name a cave?" Inuyasha spoke up.

"Well this is a special place and special places deserve to have a name at least," Kagome answered with a nod towards Alice, "So what do you want to call it?"

Alice and Kirara looked at each other, happiness glowing in their eyes, "This cave is called Himitsu no Dokutsu, the Cave of Secrets.


So here's the next chapter! Yay! And I'm done with five tests~ Next up is finals xPPP

But I thought a little break from all of the sad events would be nice, so following fireflies it is! xD Don't ask me where I got the idea cause I really have no clue where I got it, it just sorta popped into my head ^-^""

But next up we go back to the story of chasing after Naraku~ Funness~

Please read and review~