Chapter 31: Retrace: Suspicion

Blackness was all she could see as dust and debris tore at Sango's arms, legs and back and she held onto Miroku. Years of slaying demons had made Sango's skin tough so the impact of each unknown object caused her body little pain but the constant darkness around her was making her feel uneasy.

After what seemed like hours, the dust storm caused by Kagura's wind cleared. Opening her eyes to look around, Sango frowned at the absence of Kagura and Utsugi. Looking to her left, she saw Inuyasha holding Kagome, who stood in front of the injured Koga. Alice stood alone in front a short way off from the group, one hand grabbing an arm in pain while her head was tilted up towards the sky.

"Damn she got away," Inuyasha growled as he glared up at the sky where Kagura and Utsugi made their escape.

Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Sango pulled away from the comfort of Miroku's hold on her and walked over to where Alice stood, "Hey Alice, you okay?"

For a moment Alice just stood there as if she didn't hear Sango, but before Sango could repeat herself Alice slowly nodded her head. Worry over the girl in front of her coursed through Sango's veins as she looked over to see her own worry reflected in Kagome's eyes.

"Well this is unfortunate," Miroku spoke up as a light breeze swept through the swampy clearing, lightly tossing Sango's ponytail about.

A grunt of pain from Koga alerted everyone to his position as the young wolf prince stood up on shaky legs, a trail of blood running down his arm. Out of the corner of her vision, Sango watched as Kagome ran over to Koga and supported him while Inuyasha growled at the action but did nothing to stop Kagome.

After a few moments of murmuring something inaudible to Koga, Kagome looked over at Alice and asked, "Alice, if you wouldn't mind could you please heal Koga's wounds?"

Again Alice said nothing but merely nodded, walking up to where the injured wolf stood supported by the young priestess, but before she could start healing him Sango spoke up, "Wait a moment, why don't we start this on drier land?"

"I agree. Sturdier ground will aid in the healing process," Miroku agreed as everyone nodded.

Inuyasha took the lead while Miroku helped Kagome in supporting Koga, leaving Sango with Shippo perched on her shoulder to take up the rear. Alice found her sword lying on a slumped over fern, and after a shake to clear the mud from it she returned it to the loop in her hakama. Once on dry land, Sango shook her feet so the mud clinging to her boots would fall off.

Looking over at Alice, who was literally covered in mud, Sango sighed. Poor Alice, she just changed into new clothes a few moments ago and now she's covered in mud again.

But after looking into Alice's eyes, Sango flinched at how cold they appeared as Alice kneeled down and began the process of healing Koga's wound. What was that? I know Alice must be frustrated, but I've never seen her eyes look that cold before Sango thought as she stared at Alice.

Nonetheless, Sango stayed put while Alice got to work on healing the wolf and after a few moments she stood up, the job finished.

"Thanks," Koga huffed as he got up, strength revived.

Alice merely nodded while Inuyasha stated, "Keh, you're so pathetic you mangy wolf. How did you let someone like Kagura beat you?"

"Shut up! I just mistook that other woman's power not Kagura's flimsy one," Koga defended himself.

"Keh, excuses will get you nowhere," Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms.

The others sighed along with Sango as the two continued to bicker while Kagome spoke up, "Anyway, who is this Utsugi anyway? Why did she look exactly like Alice?"

The question stopped Inuyasha and Koga's argument in its tracks as everyone looked over to where Alice stood emotionlessly. A light gust of wind blew through the area as silence hung over the group and the question remained unanswered.

"I don't know, but whatever the case let's get going. We've stayed here for long enough," Inuyasha spoke up, breaking the lingering silence.

"Inuyasha's right, we'll accomplish nothing by just standing here," Miroku agreed.

"Yes, and we might find clues that explain the reason why Alice and Utsugi look alike on the way," Shippo added while Sango nodded.

"Hmph, you guys do what you want," Koga stated before taking Kagome's hands, "Kagome if the mutt ever gets to be too much you know where to find me."

"I guess… Well stay out of trouble Koga," Kagome stated as Inuyasha growled and swung his sword at Koga, who nimbly dodged it and yelled his farewell to the group before disappearing in a gust of wind.

"Stupid wolf," Inuyasha muttered as he placed Tessaiga back in its sheath.

Sighing, Sango looked up to see Alice walking away, ahead of everyone. Setting off at a brisk pace to catch up with the girl, the group soon fell into place behind her as Alice led the way through the forest. Silence hung over the group as Sango looked over to Miroku, who walked next to her, with a worried look.

Catching her gaze, Miroku gave Sango a small smile which made Sango's heart warm at its sight as he said in a hushed voice, "What is it?"

"Alice," Sango replied looking up at the back of the spoken girl, "Ever since Kagura and Utsugi got away she's been well…different."

"Indeed, Alice has been acting quiet different since that incident but after what we've seen who can blame her?" Miroku stated, "I mean, she must be just as confused, if not more, than we are about Utsugi's appearance."

"Yeah but…" Sango trailed off.

She's usually never like this… I mean she'd at least say something and not be totally quiet Sango thought as her worry spread to Miroku and soon to the whole group.

/././././././

"What a delicious meal, thank you Kagome!" Miroku praised as he lowered his empty cup of ramen and sat back in bliss.

"Aw it's nothing really," Kagome smiled, a light pink hue appearing on her cheeks, "Just instant ramen."

Sango chuckled while setting down her own cup, looking up at the indigo sky, "It sure is a nice night out tonight."

Kagome, Miroku and Shippo nodded in agreement while Inuyasha was too busy eating his second helping of ramen to notice. Alice, who remained in the priestess clothes that she got from Kaede, was busy at cleaning her jet black sword and seemed to be in her own little world to notice Sango's comment.

As if she could feel the gazes from everyone in the clearing pinned on her, Alice looked up from her job cleaning and stared back at everyone with a hint of curiosity in her ice blue eyes as she spoke up in a slightly worn tone, "Yes?"

Sango flinched at the sound of her companion's voice, which remained dormant for almost the whole day. Looking around she could see her surprise reflected in the rest of the group's eyes as their eyes stretched a little wider than normal at the sudden noise coming from Alice.

"N-Nothing just wondering if you're alright Alice, since you've been so quiet lately," Kagome replied honestly.

Alice nodded in understanding, "I see…"

"Aw, cheer up Alice, I know that seeing Utsugi get away is frustrating but we'll find her again, don't worry," Sango added, moving closer to the girl while placing a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

Sango felt Alice slightly stiffen at her touch and Sango herself looked on with confusion due to not only the strange reaction but because Alice felt almost cold to the touch. But before anyone could say a word, a blinding light shot out from Alice's sword, illuminating the clearing.

Gasps were heard from everyone as Sango shielded her eyes with her arms as the light engulfed everyone in the clearing. Slowly, Sango felt the sudden sensation that she was floating and opened her eyes to see that her sensation was true and she, along with everyone else, was floating in a sea of white.

"Wha-What happened? Where are we?" Shippo asked timidly, as he looked around to see nothing but white.

"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell not staying here," Inuyasha growled as he unsheathed his Tessaiga.

But before Inuyasha could make a move Alice swung out her hand to stop him saying in a clear tone, "Wait!"

"Huh? What are you doing baka? Can't you see that I'm trying to get us out of here?" Inuyasha retorted.

Alice looked at Inuyasha with eyes that warned not to challenge her as Kagome spoke up, 'Calm down Inuyasha, we'll get out," Kagome soothed before turning to Alice, "What is it Alice?"

"This place… The cause of it is due to Shikigami," Alice explained, lowering her arm and meeting Kagome's gaze.

"Shikigami but how…?" Miroku was cut off as the whiteness suddenly gave way to a moonlight room.

Blinking away surprise, Sango examined the dark room. A wooden post stood off towards the far window of the room and Sango could vaguely make out what seemed to be a person leaning against the post.

"Where are we now?" Shippo asked, looking around the room from where he was upon Kagome's shoulder.

"I don't know but…" Sango trailed off as she pointed to the figure by the window, "We aren't alone."

Following Sango's finger, the group spotted the figure and slowly approached it, ready if it made any sudden movement to attack them. Moonlight glittered through the window, casting a dim light on the figure's legs, revealing horrible burn marks.

"Oh my, such terrible burns," Miroku observed with wide eyes, "I wonder just what caused these injuries?"

"Well we're about to find out," Inuyasha replied, moving closer to the figure with less caution.

Within feet of the figure, Sango could see that it was a female with midnight hair that covered her eyes as her head was draped down in defeat. She wore the clothes of that of a priestess but it was in terrible condition, the white sleeves bore holes in them while the red hakama was torn up, stopping at her battered up knees.

The battered attire revealed even more of the burns along her body, trailing all the way up to the girl's face, curving along her cheek. Though the burns were seen throughout her body, Sango noticed that the more severe burns were located on the left side of the figure.

"How horrible…" Kagome murmured as she reached a hand out to see if the girl was okay.

However, right when Kagome's hand made contact she flinched saying, "That's odd… My hand should've touched her but…"

"It's an illusion," Alice spoke up from behind, "Therefore it's no surprise you can't touch her."

"Oh..." Kagome replied, pulling her hand away.

"An illusion huh? Then how do we get out of here?" Inuyasha asked, looking back at Alice.

Just then, an all too familiar flash of blinding light engulfed the room, causing Sango to shield her eyes once again. At the light breeze she felt on her skin, Sango opened her eyes to see that they were back in the dark clearing, the fire crackling, sending embers into the air.

"We're back," Sango murmured as the other looked around the clearing with confusion in their eyes.

"What was that?" Shippo asked, looking towards Alice.

"Like I was trying to say earlier, that vision was caused by Shikigami, more precisely the leftover Shikigami within this sword," Alice explained.

"Shikigami? I knew it could do a lot of amazing things but I'd never thought it could cause visions," Miroku stated.

"Well it's no surprise seeing that only time Shikigami can cause illusions," Alice went on, looking at the sword with more interest in her eyes.

"Time Shikigami? What's that?" Shippo asked.

"I've heard about it from talking to the villagers in Kasasagi Town, but apparently it's Shikigami that can let the user see events in the past or future and in some cases go back and forth through time," Sango replied, "Apparently it's very rare and only few Shikigami users can use it."

"So since the Shikigami was from your sword, that means that you can use time Shikigami Alice," Kagome pointed out.

"Cool! Why didn't you tell us this before?" Shippo asked, jumping up onto Alice's lap.

"She probably was unaware of this as we were," Miroku answered as Alice nodded in agreement to his words.

"Well if you can use time Shikigami than that means that you might be able to transport yourself back to your era," Sango pointed out.

"Now that you mention it, she could," Kagome added as everyone gave Alice excited yet sad looks.

Seeing the sadness in everyone's eyes, Alice frowned and said, "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"No it's just..." Sango started before looking away from Alice.

"We'll miss you when you leave," Shippo finished, looking up at Alice with sadness in his teal eyes.

A soft smile lit Alice's face as she hugged Shippo, "It's okay, I won't be leaving that soon. It will probably take a while to learn how to jump through time and when I learn it I can always come back here whenever I want."

"Your right, so I guess we have nothing to worry about then," Miroku stated as the spirits of the group lifted.

Within moments they were back at their usual conversation, this time Alice taking full part in it. Sango smiled at Alice, glad she was looking happier than before. An hour passed and the group lay down on the forest floor, all passed out with the exception of Sango, who lay against the transformed Kirara staring at the stars.

Kohaku… Where are you now? Are you safe? Will we ever get you out of Naraku's grasp? The questions filled Sango's mind as she stared at the lights in the sea of black. Suddenly a star shot across the sky, leaving a sparkling trail of light in its wake.

A shooting star! Sango thought, remembering what Kagome told her about stars streaking across the sky and people making wishes on them. Folding her hands Sango murmured in a barely audible tone, "Please let us defeat Naraku quickly and safely so everyone can live happily."

And with her wish said, Sango closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

/././././././

"Alice!" Sango called out, shortly echoed by Miroku who stood behind her in the grassy clearing near the campsite they stayed in the night before.

"Alice!" Sango repeated, her voice fading amidst the endless green trees that spread out before her.

"It's no use, she's not here," Miroku stated as Sango turned to face him.

"Dang, but why would she leave so suddenly…" Sango murmured, lowering her head so her dark brown hair covered her eyes from view.

Feeling Miroku's strong hands grab hold of one of her arms, Sango allowed herself to be pulled into Miroku's arms. Warmth spread throughout her body as she felt herself blush at being so close to the monk, but her bliss was cut short as she felt the monk's hand wander to her rear.

"Miroku, really? Now is not the time!" Sango yelled, pushing away from the monk to give him a slap to the cheek.

"I'm sorry Sango, it's this cursed hand of mine. I can't seem to control it," Miroku defended himself, frowning as he clutched his hand while giving it a scolding look.

"Miroku, Sango any luck over here?" Kagome's voice drew Sango's attention to the young priestess as she ran over to meet the two.

"Sadly no," Sango replied, shaking her head, "It seems like she just vanished."

"Yeah, no kidding. I wonder why she left without telling any of us, I mean she didn't even bring her sword or bag," Kagome stated, nodding to the plain tan bag that held Alice's now clean gray kimono along with her jet black sword that hung next to the bag.

Sango nodded. It was one thing for Alice to leave the group without warning, but another to leave all her possessions behind and say nothing of her departure or leave no hints of to why.

Something's up, Alice is smart enough to know that running off somewhere without anything to support herself is careless. Maybe she was captured by someone, but then Inuyasha would've heard the struggle. That is unless she went willingly. Sango thought as her eyes narrowed at the endless explanations that could be used in this situation.

"Oi!" Inuyasha's voice caught everyone's attention as Sango looked up to see him jumping down from a tree, "I've found her scent."

"That's great Inuyasha! Let's go, maybe we can catch up to her," Kagome responded as she climbed onto Inuyasha's back.

Sango and Miroku, accompanied by Shippo, climbed onto Kirara's back and quickly followed Inuyasha through the forest. Please be safe Sango thought as she couldn't push away the feeling that Alice was in danger.

Suddenly, Inuyasha called out in a confused and irritated voice, "What the?"

Before Sango could do a thing, she felt herself slam into an invisible wall. Letting out a startled yelp, she was thrown from Kirara and landed roughly on the ground. Looking up she saw Miroku next to her and Inuyasha, still holding Kagome, standing before her.

"What was that?" Sango stated, getting up to look forward where the group should've passed through with ease.

"It must be some sort of barrier," Miroku answered, holding out a hand that suddenly met the invisible wall with a spark not strong enough to send Miroku flying but strong enough to push back on the monk's hand.

"Yeah, Alice's scent cuts off here," Inuyasha agreed, narrowing his eyes at the barrier, "And that's not all, the barrier has Naraku's scent in it as well."

"Naraku?" Kagome repeated in disbelief as Sango stared wide eyed at Inuyasha before looking back at the barrier.

Why would Alice rush into danger without saying anything? She knows Naraku is not an enemy to take lightly. Baka! Sango thought as she bit her bottom lip.

"This isn't good, we must break this barrier quickly or Alice may be in danger," Miroku stated in a serious tone.

"May? Don't be a fool Miroku, Naraku's after her and she was stupid enough to come to him willingly," Inuyasha growled.

"How do you know? She could've been…" Kagome started.

"Kagome there's no sign of a struggle whatsoever in the area, that's evidence enough to show she went freely," Sango interrupted, looking into her friend's worried eyes.

"But why would she do that? Alice is smart enough to see that facing Naraku alone is a stupid idea, especially when she had us to help as well," Shippo stated.

"I don't know but standing here isn't going to get us anywhere," Inuyasha growled, charging towards the barrier once again while yelling out, "Kaze no Kizu!"

The attack slammed into the barrier with a tremendous force that sent a gust of wind blowing through Sango's pulled up hair. But nonetheless it did nothing to weaken the barrier. Annoyance showed in everyone's eyes but as Sango looked closer, a slight flicker of suspicion was faintly present in Inuyasha and Miroku's eyes.

They're being to get suspicious of Alice… Well I guess it's no surprise seeing as she willingly went to Naraku without telling anyone and has been acting quite strange for the past two days Sango thought as she raised her Hirakotsu and charged towards the barrier to give Inuyasha some sort of assistance.

The group charged at the barrier, giving it all they had. But once the dust cleared from their onslaught, frowns lit their faces as the barrier remained standing.

"Damn," Inuyasha growled, using his Tessaiga for support.

"Well this is Naraku's barrier we're facing, no one said it'd be easy to break," Sango huffed as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Hmm, if only Alice was here. Then she could break the barrier easily, I'm sure of it," Kagome murmured to herself before gasping and reaching to the side of Kirara hidden from Sango's view.

"Kagome?" Miroku stated, looking quizzically at the young girl as she pulled out Alice's black sword from where it lay next to her tan bag.

"I've got it," Kagome replied, getting up and running up so she stood next to Inuyasha, who gave her the same look as the monk, "Last night Alice said some of the remaining Shikigami on the sword caused the illusion. So that would mean that there could be some of her Shikigami still left on her sword to break the barrier."

"Oh I see, so with Alice's sword we can break the barrier," Sango concluded as Inuyasha smirked and grabbed the sword from Kagome's hands.

"Fantastic, now let's get this over with," Inuyasha yelled as he slammed the sword down onto the barrier.

The barrier pulsed and for a moment Sango saw what appeared to be a castle, but it was cloaked in mist, making it almost impossible to see. But just as the castle appeared Inuyasha grunted as the barrier pushed back with a force that sent him back to where Sango and Miroku stood five feet behind him.

"Damn, that should've worked," Inuyasha growled as he let the sword drop from his hands.

"The sword probably didn't have much Shikigami left in it," Miroku stated as Sango stepped forward to pick up the sword.

"Yeah, it was probably used up for the most part last night with that vision," Sango agreed.

"Keh, then we'll just have to do it the hard way then," Inuyasha growled as he picked up his Tessaiga from where it stood embedded in the ground and charged at the barrier once again.

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the attack, Sango charged forward with Miroku by her side to try and breakdown the barrier. They continued on throughout the remainder of the day, with Kagome and Shippo giving the three reassuring calls and water when they needed it.

But as the sun began to give way to the darkness, the three slumped down around the fire Kagome had made in exhaustion. Sweat was present on each of their heads as Kagome handed Sango a bottle of water along with a bento filled halfway with food.

Nodding her thanks, Sango took a drink of water, basking in the soothing feeling it gave to her dry throat. Taking a bite of a rice ball, she leaned back, using an arm for support, and let out a weary breath. Everyone was too exhausted to say a thing as the bright moon drifted into the sky.

After finishing the rest of the bento, Sango laid back against Kirara, letting the neko's tails drape over her in a makeshift blanket. Looking up, Sango saw the stars in the sky shining just as bright as they did the night before.

Thoughts of Kohaku entered her mind as always but were accompanied by one's of Alice this night. I wonder just what was she thinking going to face Naraku by herself? Is she alright? The thoughts raged through Sango's mind before she let out a sigh.

There's nothing I can do about it right now except to get some rest so I'm ready to go tomorrow Sango thought as she cleared her mind and closed her eyes. Her body began to feel numb as the weight of the days actions set in, allowing Sango to relax a little more than normal.

No sooner than she fully relaxed did Sango feel someone brush up against her knee. Opening one eye, Sango stared in surprise at Miroku's form lying next to her, head resting peacefully on Kirara. His peaceful expression brought a smile to Sango's face as she closed her eye and let out a quiet sigh.

As long as he didn't try anything Sango wouldn't mind sleeping so close to the monk. Scooting a little closer to him, Sango let herself drift to sleep next to the one man that could make her heart jump and send butterflies in her stomach by merely saying her name aloud.


Yeah I admit this isn't my best chapter... But hey here it is!
Unknown to the group, Alice is no longer with them but Utsugi is. This strikes suspicion in the hearts of most of the group as Utsugi leaves to return to Naraku's castle but not before revealing the truth about the rare time Shikigami.
Now the only question is, who's Shikigami was left on the sword? Utsugi's or Alice's?

Next up we see how Alice is managing in the dark castle~
Will she escape from her bindings and rescue Rin?

Please read and review~